New Zealand seamer Blair Tickner suffered a suspected shoulder dislocation during the second Test of the three-match series aggainst West Indies. The 32-year-old was the side's top performer with the ball, picking up four wickets but ended up injuring himself during the 67th over while attempting to prevent a boundary.
While diving to stop a boundary from Tevon Imlach, he dived near the boundary rope but stayed down. New Zealand's medical staff took to the field and the pacer was soon stretchered off the field. After making his Test debut in 2023, Tickner was brought back into the team after injuries to both Matt Henry and Nathan Smith in the first Test. This is a huge blow for the Black Caps as yet another one of their pacers has sustained an injury and is expected to be out for the ongoing match at the very least.
Injuries piling up for the Kiwis
Tickner is the fifth Kiwi player to pick up an injury in the series. With pacers like Ben Sears, Will O'Rourke and Matt Fisher also unavailable for the ongoing assignment against West Indies, it remains to be seen as to who will the Kiwis bring in for the third and final Test.
Tickner's impressive display on Test return
Meanwhile, Tickner gave a brilliant performance on his return to Test cricket and recorded figures of 4/32 in 16 overs. He dismissed the likes of Brandon King, Kavem Hodge, Shai Hope and Roston Chase as the Black Caps dominated with the ball in Wellington. Debutant Michael Rae also put in a fine bowling effort and racked up three scalps as West Indies got bundled out for only 205 runs in their first innings.
None of the West Indian batters managed to score even a half-century with Hope (48) being their top-scorer. John Campbell contributed well with his inning of 44 while Brandon King played a cameo of 33 as the hosts bowled them out during the third session. It remains to be seen how the New Zealand batters perform in reply.