Black Caps Will Young (L) and Rachin Ravindra. Photo: photosport
Injured Black Caps opener Rachin Ravindra has been ruled out of the Tri-Nations tournament final against hosts Pakistan, while pace bowler Lockie Ferguson remains in doubt.
Coach Gary Stead revealed Ravindra has "had a headache for a few days" since suffering a nasty blow to the forehead when he spilled a chance in the outfield in the tournament-opening win over Pakistan in Lahore last week.
The 25-year sat out the defeat of South Africa, which booked New Zealand a place in the decider in Karachi on Friday, and Stead said he still wasn't ready to play, even though he made a return to the nets on Thursday night.
New Zealand batsman Rachin Ravindra in action against Pakistan at the 2023 Cricket World Cup. Photo: photosport
"The pleasing thing is that he's progressing well. We're following [head injury assessment] protocols at the moment," Stead said.
"He's had a headache for a few days but that's subsiding, which is really good news. He hit a few balls tonight for the first time, which is good, but there's still a few more steps for him to go through before he can be considered fit for play."
The Black Caps were poised to employ Will Young and Devon Conway at the top of the order as New Zealand continued their preparations for the Champions Trophy tournament, beginning next week.
Stead indicated Ferguson was an outside chance of playing in the final, as he recuperated from a hamstring injury sustained last week while bowling in the UAE's professional T20 league.
New Zealand's Lockie Ferguson. Photo: photosport
Ferguson, who hasn't played a one-day international for 15 months, was close to returning.
"Lockie's had a couple of bowls since he's been here. He lifted the intensity up a little more tonight," Stead said.
"Pleased with how he's tracking so, certainly, we'll look to have him playing in one of the next two games. If anyone's got small niggles, we're likely to be conservative around that, with the Champions Trophy just around the corner."
New Zealand will play a warm-up match against Afghanistan in Karachi on Sunday, followed three days later by their appearance in the Champions Trophy opener against Pakistan in the same city.
Stead was pleased with how his team was adapting to Pakistan conditions.
"Whenever you come to an environment you haven't been for a while, it's always nice to hit the ground running and play really good cricket.
"I think the guys, both with the bat and the ball, have been outstanding so far, and that'll breed some confidence as we go into the Champions Trophy."
Pakistan fines
Meanwhile, Pakistan's Shaheen Shah Afridi, Saud Shakeel and Kamran Ghulam have been fined for breaching the code of conduct in separate incidents in their six-wicket win over South Africa in Karachi, cricket's governing body ICC said.
Pakistan's Shaheen Afridi Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Shaheen was fined 25 percent of his match fee when he deliberately got in the way of South African batter Matthew Breetzke while he ran a single, as the two players squared up and the umpire stepped in to defuse the situation.
In the next over, a mix-up led to Temba Bavuma being run out and Pakistan's Shakeel and Ghulam celebrated too close to the batter, who briefly stopped his walk back to the pavilion until they were out of the way.
Both Shakeel and Ghulam were fined 10 percent of their match fee for breaching the code over "using language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batter upon his/her dismissal."
Since all three players admitted the offences and accepted the sanctions proposed by match referee David Boon, no formal hearings were held.
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