On Tuesday, New Zealand pacer Lockie Ferguson was on Tuesday ruled out of the T20 World Cup 2021. The tall express quick will not be taking any further participation in the competition because of an injured calf of his, the New Zealand Cricket has confirmed.
According to the statement released by NZC ahead of their first Super 12 game against Pakistan in Sharjah, Ferguson “felt tightness in his right calf following training” and subsequent MRI scans revealed that the pacer has “a grade two tear which would require three to four weeks recovery.”
Given the tightness of the schedule in the Super 12 – with matches against India (Oct 31), Scotland (Nov 3), Namibia (Nov 5) and Afghanistan (Nov 7) coming up – the board, in communication with the team management, decided it would be best for Ferguson to not risk aggravating his injury.
New Zealand head coach Gary Stead noted it is a “real shame” for his team to be missing a bowler of Ferguson’s class and influence as they go deeper into the competition. Stead said the 30-year-old quick is a “massive part” of the T20I set up and to lose him is a “blow” to New Zealand’s chances.
Losing Ferguson less than an hour before the Pakistan game came back to haunt the Kiwis in Sharjah. In a low-scoring encounter, they did manage to put Pakistan under pressure during the run-chase. But lack of quality death-bowling options meant that NZ eventually lost the game of fine margins.
In his limited opportunities in the end-overs, Ferguson has had an excellent economy rate of 5.71. Overall, the pacer has gone for just 6.86 per over from his 13 T20Is with 24 scalps. Stats suggest this is indeed a massive blow to Kiwis’ chances, especially as their next game is a potential knock-out against India.
NZC and Stead confirmed that Ferguson is set to be replaced by another tall express quick Adam Milne, but his inclusion in the squad is subject to approval by the ICC’s Technical Committee.
Milne, who has travelled with the squad as an injury cover, was in very good form during the inaugural edition of The Hundred in the UK, taking 12 wickets from his eight games for Birmingham Phoenix with an economy rate of just 5.73.
