Huge blow to New Zealand, star player ruled out of 5th ODI vs West Indies

New Zealand will be without the services of their batting all-rounder Daryl Mitchell for the fifth and final ODI of the series against West Indies. Mitchell sustained a low grade hip strain in the third ODI of the series. 

“Mitchell departs Barbados today and will return hope to New Zealand to continue a brief recovery period,” New Zealand Cricket (NZC) said in a statement. 

ALSO READ: Calcutta High Court orders police to arrest rape-accused Delhi Capitals cricketer, seize devices

The no.1 ranked ICC ODI batter registered scores of 65, 28 and 28 in the first three ODIs of the series. In a low-scoring fourth ODI, his replacement, Nick Kelly couldn't make an impact, batting at no.3 as he was dismissed for a single-digit score by Matthew Forde.

ALSO READ: India announce Harmanpreet-led 20-member squad for Hockey World Cup 2026

The fifth and final T20I of the series is scheduled to be played at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, on July 21 (starting 12: AM IST on July 22)

New Zealand’s squad for 5th ODI vs West Indies

Henry Nicholls, Will Young, Nick Kelly, Mark Chapman, Tom Latham (wk), Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Nathan Smith, Jacob Duffy, Matthew Fisher, Jayden Lennox, Dean Foxcroft, Kristian Clarke, Mitchell Hay, Ben Lister.

Dead rubber in Bridgetown

In the fourth ODI, New Zealand won by just one wicket, their narrowest win in the format against West Indies. New Zealand have already taken an unassailable 4-1 lead in the series. If New Zealand win the fifth ODI, they will narrow the gap between them and the no.1 ranked ICC ODI team, Shubman Gill-India which lost the ODI series to England by 2-1. 

When will Daryl Mitchell return to action?

The 35-year-old will have plenty of time to recover for BlackCaps’ next ODI series. India are scheduled to tour New Zealand for an all-format series. The five-T20I series will be played from October 22 to November 1. The five-ODI series will be played from November 4 to November 15. Then, the two-Test series will commence from November 19.

In calendar year 2026, Mitchell has been in good form, having scored 473 runs from six innings, averaging 94.60, featuring two tons and as many half-centuries.