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Black Caps bowler Neil Wagner has been ruled out for the second Test against Pakistan in Christchurch.
Wagner, who required injections to numb the pain after breaking two toes in the first test at Mt Maunganui, will take up to six weeks to recover from the injuries.
Phil Walter / Getty Images
Neil Wagner celebrates his Faheem Ashraf wicket during the exciting final day of the Black Caps-Pakistan event at Mt Maunganui. Wagner played with two broken fingers.
Black Caps coach Gary Stead said the decision on who will replace the left arm’s medium-fast-paced bowler will likely be made Thursday night or Friday morning.
Wagner finished 2-50 and 2-55 in the first and second innings respectively, throwing a total of 49 overs that included a spell of 11 straight overs.
READ MORE:
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He was helped by pain injections to beat the competition, but Black Caps bowling coach Shane Jurgensen later revealed that it was not an easy process for the 34-year-old.
“I don’t think I’m a fan of needles,” Jurgensen told Newstalk ZB. “So every time he had to get an injection to ease the pain, you could hear him screaming.”
Matt Henry is the top contender to join the team if Wagner is ruled out. But regardless of its status, the South African-born sailor’s lion-heart display will be remembered for quite some time.
“He was in a lot of pain and he would go away, they would give him injections and he would make his foot numb and we were trying to use it when the injection was working, it was unique to all of us,” said Black Caps captain Kane Williamson after the game.
Wagner has not had to travel to Christchurch as the Black Caps attempt to secure a second test victory over the tourists.
The Black Caps won Test 1 at Bay Oval, which ended Thursday, by 101 runs.
The second test at Hagley Oval is scheduled to begin on Sunday.
