NZ opener Allen ruled out of Zimbabwe tri-series with foot injury

New Delhi, July 9 (IANS) New Zealand opener Finn Allen has been ruled out of the side’s upcoming T20I tri-series in Zimbabwe, starting on July 14, after sustaining a foot injury while playing for San Francisco Unicorns in the Major League Cricket (MLC) competition.

“Allen’s recovery timeline will be determined once he has returned to New Zealand and received further specialist consultations. A replacement player will be named in due course,” said New Zealand Cricket (NZC) in a statement on Wednesday.

Allen, 26, had been the second-highest run-getter for the Unicorns by amassing 333 runs in nine matches, including a record-breaking 151 in the first game against Washington Freedom in Oakland.

New Zealand, meanwhile, will arrive in Harare on Thursday ahead of their first tri-series match against South Africa set to happen on July 16, after the Proteas and hosts’ Zimbabwe play the tri-series opener on July 14. All tri-series games will be played at the Harare Sports Club. The top two teams in the tri-series will progress to the final slated to happen on July 26.

New Zealand’s 15-member squad will be led by left-arm spin bowling all-rounder Mitchell Santner. It includes uncapped hard-hitting batter Bevon Jacobs, who is on the verge of making his international debut.

This will also be New Zealand’s first series under newly-appointed head coach Rob Walter, who had earlier been at the helm of South Africa’s white-ball side. He will be joined in the coaching staff by batting coach Luke Ronchi, bowling coach Jake Oram, and James Foster, who re-joins the side as the fourth coach.

New Zealand squad: Mitchell Santner (captain), Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes, Matt Henry, Bevon Jacobs, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, Will O'Rourke, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Seifert, and Ish Sodhi

--IANS

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