Follow UsNathan Smith, who didn’t even bowl in the second innings, and Matt Henry, who was restricted to bowling only 11 overs in the second innings, have both been ruled out of the second Test between hosts New Zealand and West Indies, scheduled to begin from December 10 in Wellington.
The first Test ended in a draw after visitors West Indies made use of the hosts losing two of their prime pacers in the final innings. The Men in Maroon scored a total of 457 runs in the fourth innings, the highest ever in a timed Test in cricket’s history.
The team batted 163.3 overs out of which 68.4 was batted by the pair of Justin Greaves and Kemar Roach, who together added 180 to save the Test.
To make sure that the hosts are not underprepared in terms of injuries to their main bowlers, New Zealand have called upon an uncapped but experienced pacer at the red-ball level, Michael Rae.
The 30-year-old has so far featured in 69 First-Class games, which include a few for New Zealand A.
With a white headband adorning his hair all the time, Rae looks like a continuation to New Zealand's 'hard-working fast bowlers' culture, started by Charis Martin, carried brilliantly by Neil Wagner and now maybe, handed over to Rae.
The two mentioned above also made their New Zealand debuts after having toiled hard on the domestic circuit and with their age in the upper half of the 20s, though Rae, if he gets to make his debut, will be slightly older at 30.