Wagner toes the party line
Neil Wagner has proven himself to be a tireless contributor to the Black Caps’ cause in recent years, and he wasn’t going to let a fractured toe stop him at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui.
The left-armer bowled 13 overs before tea on the third day of the first test against Pakistan, despite only being cleared to play after completing his warmups yesterday morning.
He was hit on his right foot by a delivery from fellow left-armer Shaheen Afridi, but soldiered on after receiving treatment from Black Caps physio Tommy Simsek and was the last man out, contributing 19 to their firstinnings total of 431.
As they took the field in search of the 20 wickets they needed to win the test and keep their hopes of a place in the World Test Championship final alive, Wagner was initially absent.
But after sending down a few deliveries in the nets, he joined his team-mates and ended up bowling three overs before heading off for scans.
Ahead of the start of play on day three a team spokesperson said X-rays had revealed a ‘‘displaced fracture’’ in the fourth toe of his right foot, but added that a doctor had cleared him to play, ‘‘providing he can tolerate the pain’’.
It was unclear exactly how much pain Wagner was in while bowling – he would have had painkilling injections to help his cause – but he was as relentless and as passionate as ever as he went about his work.
In his first spell, before lunch, he sent down four overs, bowling one maiden while conceding 10 runs.
In his second, which resumed immediately after the break, but was interrupted by rain, he sent
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down a further nine overs, bowling two maidens and taking 1-22.
His wicket came in traditional Wagner fashion, from a short ball.
Fawad Alam was the victim, attempting to hook but only getting the slightest of contact as the ball went through to wicketkeeper BJ Watling behind the stumps.
The rest of the Black Caps seamers – Trent Boult, Kyle Jamieson, and Tim Southee – had all struck in the first session on day three and Wagner was clearly delighted to join them, letting his emotions run wild.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether Wagner’s fractured toe would impact his availability for the second test of the series, which is set to begin on Sunday at Hagley Oval in Christchurch.
If he were to be ruled out, coach Gary Stead could opt to play both of his all-rounders – leftarm spinner Mitchell Santner, who was included in the XI for this match, and medium-pacer Daryl Mitchell, who was the 12th man – or he could bring in another specialist seamer, with Matt Henry seemingly the next in line.