New Zealand fast bowler hit by injury ahead of West Indies ODI series

New Zealand fast bowler Ben Sears has been ruled out of the upcoming five-match ODI series in West Indies due to an ankle injury. Sears had felt pain in his ankle ever since the one-off Test against Ireland in May, which intensified on Day 5 of the third Test against England at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, where he registered match figures of 1/85 in his team’s 160-run victory.

He’s been withdrawn from the ODI series and sent home for further treatment as a precautionary measure. In his place, Ben Lister has been added to the 16-man squad as a replacement and will link up with the squad in Guyana, the venue for the first three ODIs.

In his ODI career so far, Lister has scalped six wickets from four ODIs after making his debut in 2023. Sears is the latest addition to the list of several Kiwi fast bowlers who have been hit with injuries in recent times.

Jacob Duffy returns to the ODI squad for the West Indies series after missing the recent Test tour of England on paternity leave. However, Blair Tickner has been ruled out as he undergoes ankle surgery, while senior pacers Will O'Rourke, Kyle Jamieson and Matt Henry have been rested after heavy workloads during the England Test series.

New Zealand head selector Gavin Larsen said that they're lucky to have a large pool of good quality fast bowlers and stressed the importance of managing their workload.

"Having a stable of fast bowlers is critical, and you ask any selectors around the world from any country, you're going to get the same answer. I'm touching wood here, [but] we are in a reasonably good position at the moment in New Zealand cricket where we've got a number of good quality fast bowlers. So the intention, certainly, is to carefully manage those bowlers,” Larsen was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

"But look, already you can see off the back of three Test matches against England, you can see the attrition rate. I'm glancing down and seeing four names that are back on the physio table or under the knife, so I'm very conscious of that. The depth of those fast bowlers is crucial and us managing their workloads and their return-to-play processes is critical,” he added.

ODI series to begin on July 11

Nathan Smith, Kristian Clarke, Matt Fisher and Ben Lister will join Jacob Duffy in New Zealand's pace attack, while captain Mitchell Santner returns to lead a spin unit that also features Michael Bracewell and Jayden Lennox.

The five-match ODI series begins in Providence, Guyana, with the opening three games scheduled for July 11, 13 and 16. The final two matches will be played at Kensington Oval in Barbados on July 19 and 21.

New Zealand squad for ODI series vs West Indies: Mitchell Santner (capt), Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Kristian Clarke, Jacob Duffy, Matthew Fisher, Dean Foxcroft, Mitchell Hay (wk), Nick Kelly, Tom Latham (wk), Jayden Lennox, Ben Lister, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Nathan Smith, Will Young