He scalped three wickets for 28 runs in 10 overs in the first Test against Zimbabwe.
The New Zealand team has suffered a major blow as their star pacer Will O’Rourke has been ruled out of the second Test match against Zimbabwe after he sustained a back injury. The right-arm pacer faced some stiffness in his back on Day 3 of New Zealand’s nine-wicket victory in the first Test last week.
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As a result, he has been sent home for further medical consultation. Left-arm fast bowler Ben Lister has been added to the squad as a replacement.
The Black Caps are currently on a two-Test tour of Zimbabwe. They recorded a convincing nine-wicket win in the first match, and the second Test is slated to begin on August 7. New Zealand regular captain Tom Latham also missed the first Test due to a shoulder problem.
Mitchell Santner then chipped in as a leader, and it remains to be seen whether Latham will recover in time for the upcoming match.
New Zealand bowling coach Jacob Oram said they are hopeful O’Rourke would recover soon.
“We are hopeful it’s nothing too serious. When he’s so important to our side for the next six to eight months but also next year with all the Test cricket, we’ve got some big tours, we need to make sure we look after the big guy and make sure that he’s okay. So we have our fingers crossed for him and hopefully he’ll be back on the park soon,” New Zealand bowling coach Jacob Oram said.
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O’Rourke managed to bowl 13 overs without success in the first innings of the first Test, but came all guns blazing in the second innings. He scalped three wickets for 28 runs in 10 overs in the first Test against Zimbabwe.
Over the years, O’Rourke has been performing consistently, be it any format. The 23-year-old was roped in by Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) as a replacement for the injured Mayank Yadav during the IPL 2025. He got a chance to play in a total of three games, where he collected six wickets at an economy rate of 12.77 for the Lucknow-based franchise. It would be interesting to see whether the franchise would retain him or not.
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