Taylor gives Black Caps a scare ahead of England campaign
WELLINGTON: The Black Caps’ preparation for their England tour suffered a jolt yesterday when veteran batsman Ross Taylor suffered a calf muscle injury on the opening day of their training camp in Lincoln.
Taylor, who missed the first two oneday internationals against Bangladesh in March with a left hamstring injury, left the net session and went for a scan, Stuff reported, citing a team spokesperson.
‘‘You’re always worried about any injuries that happen, but someone of
Ross’s standing and calibre as a test player, you have a little bit of concern,’’ coach Gary Stead said.
‘‘Fingers crossed everything is good, and we’ve still got time on our side, but we’ll wait and see what the medical team say.’’
Taylor has gone 14 innings without a hundred, but the 37yearold would retain his No 4 batting position in England provided he remains fit and available.
‘‘Ross has a great test record behind him and we want Ross Taylor playing in our test team,’’ Stead said.
New Zealand has scheduled two threeday camps before it leaves to play a twotest series against England next month and the final of the inaugural World Test Championship against India in Southampton from June 18.
µ The Black Caps have replaced reigning world champion England as the No 1 ranked side in the ODI rankings.
New Zealand, which beat Bangladesh 30 in its only ODI series during the past year, has advanced two slots in the rankings after gaining three rating points to reach an aggregate of 121.
Australia is second with
118 points while India and England are both on 115, the former ahead on decimal points.
England’s slip down to fourth position comes in the second annual update since it won the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup at Lord’s in the summer of 2019.
In the past 12 months, it has suffered 21 series losses to Australia and India, as well as an ODI loss to Ireland.
New Zealand has also gained in the annual T20I update, moving up from fifth to third after series wins over the West Indies, Pakistan, Australia and Bangladesh. — Reuters/RNZ
SYDNEY: David Warner was ‘‘shocked and disappointed’’ to lose both the captaincy and his place in Sunrisers Hyderabad’s XI in the Indian Premier League, where he faces an uncertain wait to return home.
Lastplaced Hyderabad, the brains trust of which is headed by Australians Tom Moody and Trevor Bayliss, recently installed Kane Williamson as skipper in an attempt to reboot its season.
Sunrisers, who won their first IPL title under Warner’s captaincy in 2016, doubled down on the snub by dropping Warner for yesterday’s match against Rajasthan.
Favouring Afghan allrounder Mohammad Nabi ahead of Warner, whose IPL contract is worth about $A2.3 million ($NZ2.5 million), resulted in another loss while raising eyebrows around the world.
New Zealand great Dan Vettori termed it staggering, while fellow ESPNcricinfo pundit Dale Steyn opined that Warner might have played his last game for the franchise.
Head coach Bayliss has already hinted Warner will not be rushed back, flagging a desire to ‘‘give some of the guys opportunities and not just disregarding them after one or two games.’’
Moody admitted Warner was ‘‘shocked and disappointed’’.
‘‘We’d be disappointed if he wasn’t feeling that way,’’ Hyderabad’s director of cricket said.
It could be a long month for the opening batsman, who is among the Australians waiting for an update from their federal government as to whether a ban on incoming travellers from India could be extended beyond May 15.
The restriction was introduced because of India’s deadly second wave of Covid19.
Adam Zampa and Kane Richardson last week fled the IPL and returned home, via Qatar, but any Australian attempting that journey now risks jail time and fines.
The IPL runs until May 31. The group of almost 40 Australians involved in the IPL are now confronted with the prospect of being forced to have a twoweek stopover in another nation before flying home.
CA and the Australian Cricketers’ Association have partnered with Unicef Australia for a fundraising drive in response to India’s health crisis.
CA is making an initial donation of $A50,000.
µ This morning’s IPL match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders in Ahmedabad was postponed last night after two KKR players tested positive for Covid19, ESPNcricinfo reported.
The cricket website said the players tested positive after one of them had left the tournament’s biosecure bubble for a shoulder scan. — AAP/Reuters