X-rays confirm Matt Henry has suffered a broken thumb, but the quick will continue to bowl in the third Test
Depleted Black Caps suffer yet another blow
New Zealand have suffered yet another injury blow with fast bowler Matt Henry breaking his left thumb on day one of the third Domain Test in Sydney.
But it is not all bad news, with Henry set to continue to bowl and may still bat depending on the state of the match.
Henry sustained the injury to his non-bowling hand from the fifth ball of the 11th over on Friday morning attempting to field a straight drive from the bat of Australia opener Joe Burns off his own bowling.
He immediately grimaced and shook his hand as blood began to gush from underneath the nail.
He completed the over then left the field to be treated, returning to bowl a further 15 overs on the day.
An x-ray after play revealed a fracture but the 28-year-old will carry on with the damaged digit strapped and placed in a splint.
Henry is playing his first Test of the series, given the nod over veteran seamer Tim Southee due to his express pace and the heavy workload Southee has endured this summer.
"We just felt that we wanted a little more pace out there, what Matt Henry offers over Tim," New Zealand coach Gary Stead said last night.
Peter Fulton is in the whites with Jeet Raval the latest to suffer from the flu 😷 Boys fighting on the park - Will Somerville with the early wicket of Wade 🏏🇦🇺 CARD | https://t.co/EPIJotM8GY#AUSvNZ #cricketnation pic.twitter.com/5agcuwhi4i— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) January 4, 2020
"And being the workload that Tim has had not just in the last two Tests but if you put the last four together, it's somewhere around 200 overs in a short period of time, just felt that what Matt offered would have given us a point of difference."
Henry's injury is the latest of a long list of fitness woes for the Black Caps this campaign.
In the series opener in Perth, debutant paceman Lockie Ferguson broke down with a calf strain after bowling just 11 overs and returned home after the 296-run defeat.
In the following Test at the MCG, experienced seam bowler Trent Boult was fit to play having overcome a side injury but suffered a fractured finger after copping a bouncer on the glove from Australia speedster Mitch Starc.
The Black Caps camp was then struck with a virus in the new year, ruling captain Kane Williamson, middle-order batter Henry Nicholls and left-arm spinner Mitch Santner out of the SCG Test with illness.
Uncapped 23-year-old Auckland batter Glenn Phillips was flown in on the eve of the match and day later made his Test debut, with opener Tom Latham becoming the 30th Test captain of New Zealand in place of Williamson.
Domain Test Series v New Zealand
Australia squad: David Warner, Joe Burns, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Matthew Wade, Travis Head, Tim Paine (c, wk), Pat Cummins, Mitch Starc, Nathan Lyon, James Pattinson, Michael Neser, Mitchell Swepson
New Zealand: Todd Astle, Tom Blundell, Trent Boult, Colin de Grandhomme, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, Glenn Phillips, Jeet Raval, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, BJ Watling, Neil Wagner, Kane Williamson (c)
First Test: Australia won by 296 runs
Second Test: Australia won by 247 runs
Third Test: January 3-7, SCG (Seven, Fox & Kayo)