Matt Henry might miss the Champions Trophy final due to a shoulder injury sustained during the semi-final in Lahore, according to a report by ESPNcricinfo.
The tournament’s leading wicket-taker injured his shoulder while taking the catch to dismiss Heinrich Klaasen. However, he returned later in the match to bowl two overs and was even seen diving in the field.
Following the semi-final, Mitchell Santner had expressed optimism about Henry’s availability, but head coach Gary Stead has now admitted that his fitness remains uncertain just over 48 hours before the final.
“I guess the positive thing from our perspective is that he got back out there to bowl,” Stead said, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo. “We’ve had some scans and stuff done on him, and we’re going to give him every chance to play in this match,” he added. “[But it’s] still a little bit unknown at this stage,” he said.
Henry has been instrumental for New Zealand, picking up ten wickets at an average of 16.70 in the tournament. Notably, five of those came in the group-stage clash against India in Dubai— the same opposition and venue for the final.
“He’s obviously pretty sore just from landing on the point of his shoulder,” Stead said, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo. “Hopefully, he will be okay,” he noted.
With a five-wicket haul against a formidable Indian side in Dubai, Matt Henry surpassed the legendary Richard Hadlee to become New Zealand’s eighth-highest wicket-taker in ODIs. In the final group-stage match between India and New Zealand of the ongoing Champions Trophy on Sunday, the experienced right-arm quick went past Hadlee’s tally of 158 scalps in ODIs. With his blistering pace, Henry left the Indian batters in shreds and returned with figures of 5/42. In the semi-final against South Africa, he finished with 2/43.
If Henry is ruled out, New Zealand has Jacob Duffy as a backup. The right-arm seamer has yet to feature in the tournament but played against Pakistan in the pre-tournament tri-series, where he returned figures of 1/48 in seven overs.
