Injuries headache for NZ

Painful injuries to two key performers have given the Black Caps’ brains trust a nasty headache.

Pace bowler Trent Boult and allrounder Colin de Grandhomme have been ruled out of the second and final test in the series against England starting in Hamilton tomorrow.

That will require some dextrous juggling from selector Gavin Larsen, head coach Gary Stead and skipper Kane Williamson as New Zealand seek to secure a series victory while also eyeing a massive three-test series against Australia across the Tasman starting in just over a fortnight.

The first priority will be coming up with a playing XI for Seddon Park, that was already expected to have one change after Boult left the field on the final day of the first test win in Mt Maunganui.

Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson each have claims to replace the left-armer, who has strained a muscle overlying his ribs on his right hand-side.

But replacing de Grandhomme – either with a like-forlike allrounder or another bowling option and pushing others up the batting middle order – has given the selection party plenty of extra to ponder.

Northern Districts allrounder Daryl Mitchell joined the squad yesterday, along with Ferguson and leg-spinning allrounder Todd Astle.

Mitchell, 28, has played nine

Twenty20 games for New Zealand but hasn’t been touted as a test player until now. Regarded more as a batting allrounder, the son of former All Blacks coach John Mitchell averages 35.65 in firstclass cricket with the bat and has

61 wickets at 33.57 with the ball. New Zealand bowling coach Shane Jurgensen admitted de Grandhomme – who averages world-class all-round figures of

40.33 with the bat and 29.63 with the ball – is a vital cog for the hosts.

‘‘Colin has this habit of coming on and getting wickets – you saw that in the World Cup and you saw it in that test match.

‘‘Maybe he leads them into a false sense of security because he’s a little bit slower but he bowls what we call a heavy ball, quite accurate, quite skilful.’’

Jurgensen said Mitchell was looked at to play a similar role.

‘‘He’s got the capabilities what Colin’s been doing.’’

The absence of both Boult and de Grandhomme and Neil Wagner’s second-innings heroics at Bay Oval mean Ferguson now realistically only looms as a newball option for Hamilton.

of

New Zealand’s Colin de Grandhomme, left, and Trent Boult, right, have been ruled out of the second test against England because of injuries.

Ahead of the first test, he was also seen as a first-change possibility but it would be a huge surprise if the hosts now included Henry and Ferguson.

Ideally, Ferguson would have been a sitter to make his test debut before the Australian tour, which now could be tough on the 10-test Henry, who took five wickets in a drawn test against

South Africa

March, 2017.

‘‘You always want to give people an opportunity to play, but at the same time it’s test cricket and we pride ourselves on the best 11 to play,’’ Jurgensen said. ‘‘I’m proud of the way we bowled in the last test – that wicket was pretty dry and flat, probably not normally what we’d see in New

in

Hamilton

in

Zealand conditions. It combined team effort.’’

Should Henry and Ferguson join Tim Southee and Wagner in a four-pronged pace attack, first test maiden centurion Mitchell Santner would be promoted to bat at seven in place of de Grandhomme.

Looking past Seddon Park, Jurgensen was optimistic of the

was

achances of Boult and de Grandhomme making the plane to Perth – although there is a 10-day break between the first test pinkball day-night game in Perth and the second test starting in Melbourne on Boxing Day.

‘‘Hopefully they won’t be out for too long,’’ Jurgensen said.

‘‘We want them to be on the plane to go to Perth.’’