Black Caps vs Australia: Opener Devon Conway remains in doubt for first test

Tuesday, 27 February 2024

Black Caps fast bowler tears up as he confirms he has played his last test, and thanks those who got him there.

* A thumb injury could keep Devon Conway out of the Black Caps side for the first test versus Australia.

* The opening batter was seeing specialists on Tuesday ahead of the encounter at the Basin Reserve starting on Thursday.

* Scott Kuggeleijn could be a surprise inclusion in the NZ XI after Neil Wagner’s shock retirement.

Black Caps opener Devon Conway remains in doubt to take on Australia in the first test (11am Thursday start).

Conway injured his left thumb while keeping wicket in the second T20 international versus the visitors at Eden Park last Friday.

The left-hander was initially cleared of any fracture, but missed the final T20 on Sunday at the same venue and is still bothered by the injury ahead of the first match of the two-test series in Wellington.

“He's seeing a number of specialists at the moment, so we won't see him at training today,” head coach Gary Stead said on Tuesday afternoon.

“We're hoping we can make the call tomorrow morning around where that sits. He's had a bat in his hand a few times - it's not comfortable at the moment.

'We obviously want Devon to play, he's a key person in our batting order and his record obviously speaks for itself. We want to give him every chance to be available.'

Devon Conway injured his thumb in game two of New Zealand’s T20 series against Australia at Eden Park.

Should Conway not be fit for the first test at the Basin Reserve, Will Young would be the obvious replacement. Young filled in for an injured Daryl Mitchell in the second test against South Africa in Hamilton, and made an unbeaten 60 batting in the second innings at No 5 to help the hosts to a 2-0 series victory in conjunction with Kane Williamson.

Mitchell is back in the squad after also being rested from the T20 series, while Rachin Ravindra is also set to play after missing the last two T20Is with soreness in his left knee.

Neil Wagner’s surprise retirement from international cricket on Tuesday also raised the prospect that Scott Kuggeleijn could make his second test appearance.

Kuggeleijn was named in the Black Caps squad for the test series, with seamer Kyle Jamieson ruled out of cricket for a year with another stress fracture in his back.

Scott Kuggeleijn could play his second test for NZ against Australia in Wellington this week.

Wagner had been told he wouldn’t be selected in the XI for the Basin, so if New Zealand are to go with four pace bowlers and Ravindra and Glenn Phillips as their spin-bowling options, Kuggeleijn would join captain Tim Southee, Matt Henry and rookie sensation Will O’Rourke in the side.

The other option is to select three quicks and bring back left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner, who wasn’t wanted for the second test in Hamilton after featuring in the first-test win over the Proteas in Mount Maunganui.

“In hindsight, we probably got that wrong with the way the pitch did behave, but we've certainly got Mitch Santner here,” Stead said.

'We'll get through training first … with our luck recently you never know what might happen,.“

Australian opener Usman Khawaja, meanwhile, said the weather conditions in Wellington would play a big part.

'The wicket looks pretty green out there,' Khawaja said on Tuesday.

'Sometimes the New Zealand wickets look worse than they play. It depends on the conditions above.

“If the sun comes out even if you have a really green wicket if you get through the new ball it can be a pretty nice place to bat. But overcast conditions, green wicket, it can be quite tough.”

The MetService forecasts fine, breezy weather for the first two days on Thursday and Friday, with late showers predicted for Saturday and rain on Sunday.