Caps chaos: Mitchell fractures his hand

The Black Caps’ best-laid plans may have unravelled a fortnight before the Twenty20 World Cup, with key batsman Daryl Mitchell in doubt for the tournament in Australia.

Mitchell suffered a fractured hand while batting in the nets during training yesterday, a potentially costly blow to New Zealand’s chances.

The Black Caps will tonight begin their preparations for the World Cup when they face Pakistan at Hagley Oval as part of a tri-series also featuring Bangladesh.

Coach Gary Stead had spoken earlier about the settled nature of his side and the expectation of few changes during that series, but he will now be forced into a late rethink.

With the squad set to depart for Australia on October 15, before their opening match against the hosts a week later, Stead said time was needed before determining Mitchell’s availability.

“It’s a real shame for Daryl to suffer this injury on the eve of an exciting period of cricket,” the coach said. “Daryl’s become a really important player to our T20 unit and we’re certainly going to miss his all-round skills and versatility in the tri-series.

“With our first game of the World Cup in just over two weeks, we need to take some time to consider Daryl’s recovery timeline and his potential involvement.”

Mitchell was a standout while opening the batting during New Zealand’s run to the final of last year’s T20 World Cup, with their defeat by Australia coming after Devon Conway had suffered a broken hand in the semifinal win over England.

Conway has since assumed that opening role while Mitchell is an integral part of the Black Caps’ middle order.

Stead will at least have the next week to mull over their options to fill the hole left by Mitchell, with Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman and Finn Allen the other batting options in the World Cup squad.

Any change is less than ideal for a Black Caps side who had been content with their first-choice XI, although there are also still slight concerns over the health of Lockie Ferguson.

Stead said the paceman had a “little ab injury” the team were managing, possibly limiting his involvement in the tri-series.

Pakistan won the opening triseries match yesterday, with Mohammad Rizwan’s 78 not out off 50 balls leading them to 167-5, with Bangladesh falling 21 runs short.

The White Ferns, meanwhile, completed a 4-1 T20 series victory over the West Indies yesterday, with Maddy Green scoring the winning run off the final ball as the tourists chased down 102 with five wickets in hand.