New Zealand have lost fast bowler Will O’Rourke for at least the next quarter-year after scans confirmed a stress fracture in his lower back. The timing is awkward: Australia, England and West Indies are all due in the country over the spring, and O’Rourke was pencilled in for both white-ball and red-ball work.
He felt the first twinge on day three of the opening Test against Zimbabwe and has now been booked in for a three-month strength-and-conditioning block. Only after that will medical staff set a firmer return date. Head coach Rob Walter summed up the mood. “We’re really feeling for Will at the moment and wishing him speedy recovery,” he said. “He’s had such an impressive start to his career and so naturally it is disappointing when an injury like this comes along, but he’s a resilient guy and determined to put the work in and come back stronger.”
Walter added: “We’re very hopeful for that [three month time frame]. Stress fractures are obviously almost part and parcel of the craft, really, but never nice when it does happen. At this stage, we will reassess after that three month mark, hopefully the healing process has gone really well and we can get into that return to play.”
There is more bad luck on the injury front. Finn Allen has undergone surgery on a stress fracture of the right foot and is also looking at about 12 weeks out. Glenn Phillips, sidelined during the Zimbabwe trip by a groin strain, will not face Australia in the three-match T20I series on 1, 3 and 4 October at Mount Maunganui.
Captain Mitchell Santner is somewhere in between. He returned from The Hundred nursing groin pain and will have abdominal surgery this week, yet the selectors are prepared to wait. Walter explained the thinking. “Mitch is a world class player and a crucial part of our T20 side from a skills and leadership point of view. With that in mind we expect to name him in our squad when we announce it in a couple of weeks’ time, and from there we can assess how his rest and rehabilitation progresses following surgery, before making a call on the eve of the series.”
The coach admitted the absences leave holes. “It’s disappointing to lose the services of Glenn and Finn who have played important batting roles in our T20 set up in recent times. Like in Zimbabwe, their unavailability will present opportunities for others to put their hands up in what’s going to be a hugely exciting and important series against Australia.”
One piece of brighter news: Ben Sears has shaken off the side strain that ruled him out of Zimbabwe and should be available to share the new ball next month. With O’Rourke on ice, Sears’ extra pace suddenly feels even more valuable.
New Zealand’s immediate schedule
• Australia T20Is: 1, 3, 4 Oct – Mount Maunganui
• England ODIs & T20Is: late Oct-Nov (dates TBC)
• West Indies Tests: December
In an ideal world O’Rourke and Allen would be fit by Christmas, but cricket seldom sticks to tidy timetables. For now the Black Caps will juggle resources, hope the rehab rooms stay quiet, and keep the phone numbers of a few fringe quicks close at hand.
