Zimbabwe opener Kelis Ndhlovu has been taken to hospital for precautionary scans after a rising ball from New Zealand quick Bree Illing struck her on the helmet during Sunday’s second women’s ODI at University Oval, Dunedin.
The incident came in the sixth over of Zimbabwe’s chase. Ndhlovu, 20, had just helped put on 25 with fellow opener Modester Mupachikwa when she mis-judged a short delivery, ducking late and being hit flush on the grille. She went down immediately, medical staff from both teams sprinted on, and play was halted for nearly ten minutes while on-field assessments were made. Although she never lost consciousness, the on-site doctor recommended further checks and an ambulance took her to Dunedin Public Hospital.
Tendai Makusha, who had been padded up as reserve batter, was activated as the concussion substitute under ICC regulations.
After the match Zimbabwe’s interim head coach, Kate Ebrahim, gave a brief update: “She’s responding now, which is really lovely to hear,” before adding, “She’s just recovering and we’ll just see what the scans say and we’ll move on from there.”
Ebrahim also spoke about supporting the rest of the side in the immediate aftermath. “We briefly touched on that… I just made sure that the other opener was in a position to sort of mentally carry on. She was right there with her. Yeah, so I just touched base, made sure she was okay. A few words for her and just make sure [we] keep going with Chipo when she came in and we just gather quickly as a team and just assist and… first I just checked on everyone because it can be quite a shock really, for everyone.”
New Zealand went on to win by eight wickets, securing the three-match series 2-0 with a game to spare. Leg-spinner Amelia Kerr was the standout, claiming a career-best 7 for 26 – a mix of sharp googlies and traditional leg-breaks that proved too good on a used surface offering grip.
Zimbabwe will decide on Ndhlovu’s availability once scan results are in, though team management hinted they are unlikely to risk her in Wednesday’s dead rubber. For now, the camp’s priority is a full recovery rather than a quick return.
