CAPTAIN, WE HAVE A PROBLEM
KANE WILLIAMSON'S BOXING DAY TEST IN TATTERS AS HAND INJURY FORCES BOULT OUT OF REST OF TOUR
New Zealand’s cricket tour of Australia careered from bad to worse, with confirmation Trent Boult is heading home with a broken bone in his right hand.
The senior Black Caps fast bowler suffered a painful blow to his right hand from a Mitchell Starc thunderbolt during their innings of 148 on day three of the Boxing Day test in Melbourne yesterday, as the tourists plunged towards defeat and a 2-0 series deficit.
Boult fired down six overs in Australia’s second innings then departed for a scan, which revealed a fracture to the second metacarpal of his right hand. Remarkably, the left-armer returned and bowled three more overs as Australia reached 137-4 at stumps, a massive lead of 456.
A team spokesman confirmed the undisplaced fracture will require around four weeks of rehabilitation, meaning Boult will fly home at the end of the second test and miss the series finale in Sydney, starting on January 3.
A replacement player is yet to be announced, but the Black Caps already have Matt Henry and the uncapped Kyle Jamieson in reserve in Melbourne. Jamieson was summoned to replace debutant fast bowler Lockie Ferguson, who suffered a tour-ending calf strain on day one of the first test in Perth.
Spinners Will Somerville or Ajaz Patel could potentially be whistled up to bolster the slow bowling ranks in light of Mitchell Santner’s struggles, on a Sydney pitch expected to take turn.
‘‘It’s obviously gutting news for Trent as well as our group,’’ team-mate Tom Latham said.
‘‘To have someone like that ruled out with his injury is obviously disappointing. So we’ll have to wait and see who the replacement is over the next few days. I’m sure whoever will come in will be up for the task.’’
It’s been a few weeks to forget for Boult, the leader of the New Zealand attack, aside from his memorable inswinger to skittle Australia’s Joe Burns in the first over on Boxing Day.
He suffered an injury to a rib muscle which ruled him out of the second test against England and the first test against Australia in Perth, before returning in Melbourne. He took 1-91 off 31 overs in Australia’s first innings of 467.
Boult walked out to bat with his New Zealand side on the ropes at 124-9 and Australia’s fast bowlers breathing fire.
Starc bowled a bouncer that was headed for Boult’s helmet grille and he raised his hands to fend it off as the ball cannoned into his right glove.
He received medical attention but batted on, clearly in pain and removing his hand from the bat after every delivery, before he was bowled by Starc for eight.
Meanwhile, a savage Australian bowling onslaught left an outclassed New Zealand on the brink of another heavy defeat.
The gulf between the sides widened even further on day three, as the Black Caps batsmen meekly surrendered.
Australia will almost certainly be 2-0 up, and replace New Zealand
as the world’s No 2-ranked test side, with the tourists somehow needing to bat most of the next two days to save this.
It could have been a three-day test, but for Australian skipper Tim Paine’s decision not to enforce the follow-on to rest his bowlers, notably Pat Cummins, who was outstanding in taking 5-28.
No rain is forecast until late tomorrow when temperatures are forecast to reach 41C.
The one high point of the final stanza was Neil Wagner, New Zealand’s player of the series, removing Steve Smith for a fourth time in as many innings to raise his 200th test wicket as Australia chased quick runs.
Led by Cummins, and ably backed by the recalled James Pattinson, Australia’s bowlers showed their New Zealand counterparts how it was done.
Latham aside, who batted 236 minutes and faced 144 balls for his 50, after he was dropped by Smith on nine, the batsmen just weren’t up to Australia’s 140km/ h-plus pace and hostility.
‘‘It was pretty relentless. Fair play to Australia the way they bowled . . . they didn’t let us have anything unfortunately,’’ Latham said.
‘‘But that’s test cricket and that’s what we came to expect from the Australian side.
‘‘The way they executed was spot-on from a bowling point of view and unfortunately we didn’t handle it the way would have wanted today.’’
It was too quick and too hot to handle for prolonged, intense periods.