New Zealand have lost three frontline bowlers in the space of a week, a run of injuries that has left the home side reshaping their attack on the eve of the second Test against West Indies in Wellington.
Matt Henry (calf), Mitchell Santner (knee) and Nathan Smith (side strain) have all been ruled out of the two remaining matches. Wicketkeeper-batter Tom Blundell is also unavailable after a torn hamstring in Christchurch. With the Basin Reserve Test starting on 10 November, selectors have turned to seam-bowling all-rounders Michael Rae and Kristian Clarke, plus rookie gloveman Mitchell Hay.
Clarke, 24, receives his first Test call-up after stepping in as an ODI replacement during the England tour in September. The Northern Districts player is regarded as a genuine bowling all-rounder who can lengthen the lower order. In 27 first-class games he has 77 wickets at 33 and 893 runs at 23.50, including a maiden List A hundred for ND last month.
“On the cricket field, I’m a bowling allrounder, you know, and I pride myself on trying to offer as much as I can in the game,” Clarke said when drafted into the ODI squad. “I just want to be a good person around the group also and just offer as much as I can.”
Raised in the Waikato town of Te Awamutu, Clarke still lives locally and is steeped in community cricket. “Yeah, so [I was] born and raised in Te Awamutu, [and I] still live in Te Awamutu, still at home,” he explained. “I hold Te Amuru very dear to my heart – it’s a cool little town and yeah, quiet little place. Just sort of grew up through the cricket system there and then yeah, sort of just went from there.”
Smith’s absence leaves New Zealand short of a reliable fifth bowler. Head coach Gary Stead admitted selection meetings have been “more complicated than usual”, with Kyle Jamieson and Will O’Rourke still working through return-to-play protocols and Blair Tickner the only fully fit seamer originally on tour. Conditions in Wellington typically reward tall quicks, so one of Rae or Clarke may debut alongside Tim Southee and Neil Wagner.
The batting order is also in flux. Blundell’s injury opens the door for Hay to keep wicket, though Devon Conway has taken the gloves at domestic level and could fill in if the selectors prefer another specialist batter. There is better news on Daryl Mitchell, who is expected to reclaim his middle-order spot after missing the first Test with a finger issue. Glenn Phillips, fresh from a Plunket Shield century and a lively fielding stint as substitute, is pushing for inclusion too.
New Zealand dominated large parts of the drawn opener, racking up 659 for 6 declared before asking West Indies to follow on. The visitors, 530 runs behind, held out thanks to Kraigg Brathwaite’s obdurate 147* and a final-day rearguard led by Joshua Da Silva. While the hosts will lament missed chances, the performance of an under-strength attack did hint at depth beyond the first-choice XI.
Even so, losing Henry’s accuracy, Santner’s control and Smith’s all-round balance within a single series is a stern examination of resources. The immediate challenge is stitching together a balanced XI that can exploit Basin Reserve’s grass cover while still turning over a Windies line-up that found rare confidence in Christchurch.
Stead struck a realistic note: “We’ve got a few jigsaw pieces to move around, but opportunities arrive quickly in this game. Debuts at Wellington are special – if that happens for one of the new lads, we back them to be ready.”
