Just before leaving for the UK for the upcoming Test series, New Zealand have been handed a big injury scare by their middle-order batsman Henry Nicholls. New Zealand will be in England soon for a three-match Test series. The series will get underway on June 2 at the Lord’s. The Black Caps are scheduled to depart for the UK in two groups on Saturday and Sunday. And before the departure, New Zealand are dealing with the big injury concern.
Nicholls has suffered a calf injury. According to head coach Gary Stead, the batsman suffered the injury on Monday at a pre-tour camp in Mt Maunganui. Nicholls sustained the injury in his right leg while taking part in a running drill. Stead said that the team-management would know about the extent of the injury only after the scans are completed.
“He’s having an MRI scan later today, so we’ll know more after that as to the extent of it. But he’s got it strapped up and I guess the next 24 to 48 hours will give us an indication of how serious that is,” Stead said on Tuesday.
New Zealand would be hoping that the injury is not a serious one and Nicholls remains available for the tough tour. The southpaw is one of the batting mainstays for New Zealand in the longest format of the game. In 46 Tests so far, he has scored more than 2500 runs at an average of more than 40. He has also scored 8 hundreds and 12 fifties so far.
Warm-up games before Test series:
New Zealand are currently languishing at sixth in the World Test Championship (WTC) standings. The reigning WTC champions will be hoping to improve their standing in the upcoming series. Before the start of the Test series against England, New Zealand will play a couple of warm-up games. The tour will start with a four-day warm-up match against Sussex next Friday. It will be followed by another four-day fixture against a First Class Counties Select XI following from May 26.