Another New Zealand fast bowler Ben Sears ruled out of West Indies ODIs due to injury, dropped left-arm pacer Ben Lister recalled

Ben replaces Ben in New Zealand's ODI squad for the five-ODI series on West Indies soil starting on July 11. Ben Sears has been ruled out of the tour due to ankle injury. Sears had played in the third and final Test of the series against England at Trent Bridge, Nottingham where he picked up the wicket of first innings' centurion Ben Duckett.

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Earlier, he had complained of pain during the four-day Test against Ireland. He has been sent back home as a precautionary measure where he will receive further treatment.

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In Sears’ absence, left-arm pacer Ben Lister has been picked up in the squad. Lister had been part of the white-ball tour of Bangladesh in April where several Kiwi players were missing due to their respective Indian Premier League (IPL) commitments.

In his previous ODI appearance, Lister had taken two wickets for 62 runs in his quota of 10 overs. From four ODIs, he has claimed six wickets, averaging 36.66. He has played 13 T20Is as well.

New Zealand’s updated squad for ODI series vs West Indies

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

List of injured and rested pacers

On July 1, New Zealand had announced their squad for the five ODIs on Caribbean soil. New Zealand have already picked Matthew Fisher who is set to make his ODI debut in West Indies. While Jacob Duffy has returned after paternity leave, Will O'Rourke, Kyle Jamieson and Matt Henry have been rested. Blair Tickner is not part of the squad as he is set to undergo ankle surgery.

Two pacers – Lockie Ferguson and Adam Milne — who are currently involved in the Major League Cricket (MLC) 2026 were unavailable for selection as well.

A lot at stake for West Indies

The first three ODIs will be played at Guyana’s Providence Stadium. Then, the action will shift to Barbados’ Kensington Oval for the last two ODIs. West Indies would look to avenge their defeat on New Zealand soil and move up the in the ICC rankings. They are currently placed 10th and need to move to eighth position before the cutoff to get a direct qualification into ODI World Cup 2027. New Zealand are placed second, below India. They can narrow down the difference between them and India if they win the series.