Wheeler to undergo back scans
FRINGE Black Caps swing bowler Ben Wheeler is under a back injury cloud just over a week out from the start of the domestic cricket season.
The 23-year-old Central Stags quick is booked to undergo a scan in Christchurch today, New Zealand Cricket confirmed, after he left the field during the New Zealand winter training squad’s match against Sri Lanka A last Thursday.
Wheeler bowled just three overs and reported back soreness. He’s been put on ice since, with Neil Wagner summoned to the NZA one-day squad as his replacement.
Any back soreness in the bowling ranks raises red flags at NZC, with test squad members Trent Boult, Corey Anderson and Jimmy Neesham all recovering from stress-related spine injuries.
Wheeler was one of the bowling finds of the year in six oneday internationals in England, Zimbabwe and South Africa, and he pushed hard for a spot in the 15-man test squad for Australia.
While Wheeler and NZC cross their fingers for no structural damage in his back, his Stags team-mate Adam Milne begins his bid for a test callup later in the summer on Tuesday.
New Zealand’s fastest bowler will play one of the Stags’ two warmup Twenty20 matches against Wellington in Napier in his first serious hit-out since returning from an impressive tour of South Africa.
Milne, 23, was sidelined for five months after the World Cup with a heel injury and after a false start in Zimbabwe, returned as good as ever in the 2-1 ODI series defeat in South Africa.
He didn’t expect to make the test squad for Australia and wants to add to his 13 first-class matches and prove his durability, starting with their home Plunket Shield opener against Otago on October 15.
‘‘If I’m honest and I want to push for a place in the test team I need to play some four-day cricket and get through a couple of games back-to-back, get the body strong then get into the T20,’’ Milne said. ‘‘In South Africa I even felt better than I did during the World Cup. I didn’t bowl too much in the tournament because Timmy and Boulty were knocking them over.
‘‘It was good to have more of a leader’s role opening the bowling and looking to be aggressive and hopefully I can continue in the New Zealand season.’’
The Stags and Firebirds will play two T20s then a two-day game later in the week.
Central are also without Ross Taylor and Doug Bracewell (in Hamilton at a Black Caps pink ball camp) and batsmen Will Young and George Worker on NZA duty. Teenage allrounders Christian Leopard (Hawke’s Bay) and Josh Clarkson (Nelson) will get their chances to impress this week.
Wellington will be missing Luke Ronchi (Black Caps camp), Jeetan Patel and Craig Cachopa (still returning from England) and NZA pair Tom Blundell and Michael Pollard.
Eastern Suburbs wicketkeeper Lachie Johns is the only non-contracted Firebirds player making the trip and will take the gloves in the absence of Ronchi and Blundell, under the new captain-coach duo of Michael Papps and Bruce Edgar.