After losing the series opener in Auckland, Australia have suffered another setback as their stand-in skipper Mathew Wade has been ruled out of the remainder of the three-match Chappell-Hadlee series.
The wicketkeeper-batsman missed the first ODI too after suffering a back injury during training. The visitors are already missing the services of David Warner and Steven Smith and now face a tough task of defending the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy, which they won in December last year.
Aaron Finch, who led the team in the first ODI, will take charge in the remaining matches, in Napier ( February 2) and Hamilton (February 5).
“With Matthew not being fit for Thursday’s game in Napier it has been decided to send him home for an assessment and treatment in Melbourne, with a view to him being fit for the tour of India and the training camp in Dubai that precedes it,” John Orchard, Cricket Australia’s chief medical officer, said. “We are hopeful this injury will settle down relatively quickly and that he will be able to participate in that tour without any issues.”
Wade also said the injury is not a serious one and revealed the decision to return was taken as a precautionary measure. He’ll join the Australia team in Dubai next week for a preparatory camp before embarking on a tough tour of India.
“It’s not a major injury but with the short turnaround between matches and the four-and-a-half-hour journey by bus to Hamilton for the next match, it’s been decided it’s best for me to go home and get some treatment in Melbourne,” he said.
“With Dubai and then India I’d say I’d definitely be right for that. I’ll get that bit of treatment in Melbourne and we’re hopeful it’ll be fine by Sunday or Monday, and I can be on a flight to Dubai and start training pretty much as soon as I hit the ground there.”
The 29-year old further said he had suffered a similar injury before.
“It’s happened to me once before, in Ireland a couple of years ago. I did it the day before the game then and was right to go the next day. This one’s just taken a little bit more time and there’s no reason why that’s happened. Sometimes you recover really quickly and at other times it’s a little slower,” he said.
“It’s heartbreaking I couldn’t take the field as captain but it’s been a real honour to have been appointed captain and to be able to lead the group in the time I’ve been here in New Zealand. And after all, it’s all about the team, it’s not about me. Hopefully we can win the next two games and win the series.”
Meanwhile, no replacement has been named for Wade which means Peter Handscomb is likely to continue as wicketkeeper.