Image Credit- NZC
Though there was some relief for New Zealand that
Devon Conway didn’t seem to have suffered a major injury in Auckland, they may
still have to wait anxiously for the Test series against Australia because of
him and Rachin Ravindra, who missed the match due to knee soreness.
In the match’s second over, Adam Milne struck Conway with a stinging ball down
the leg side, striking him. After receiving some quick medical attention on the
pitch, he decided not to go on, and Finn Allen took over the gloves for the remainder
of the inning.
Conway did not bat during New Zealand’s pursuit and
instead went to the hospital for x-rays. He was cleared of “an obvious
fracture to his left thumb” and will get more testing on Saturday before
the final Twenty20 international match. With the first Test in Wellington on
February 29 coming up quickly, prudence will probably be the order of the day.
He was padded up in the dugout during the closing
stages but with the home side so far adrift there was no point in risking him.
“All I know it was pretty swollen and it wasn’t worth going out there at
that point of time,” Glenn Phillips said.
“At the end of the day we were four down for not much and who knows Devon
could have been one of those wickets,” he said. “But obviously he’s
an integral part of our batting line up and he always gives a lot of confidence
to the guys that are behind him. It was a big loss but at the end of the day
wickets fell regardless.”
However, Adam Zampa felt Conway not being there played
a big part in shaping the second innings with Australia’s quicks reducing New
Zealand to 27 for 3 in the powerplay and a long tail was later exposed.
“Reckon potentially Conway is a big out for them in that situation,”
he said. “That was almost the perfect start of us. Unfortunately for him,
hope his thumbs alright, [but] he’s the kind of guy who can bat through so that
made it a lot harder for New Zealand.”