Abdominal strain rules Colin de Grandhomme out of second England Test

Colin de Grandhomme, the New Zealand all-rounder, has been ruled out of the second Test against England, starting November 29 at the Seddon Park in Hamilton. The 33-year-old has developed an abdominal muscle strain and won’t be able to take any further part in the series. De Grandhomme sustained the strain in the opening Test at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui.

New Zealand Cricket (NZC) confirmed the news on Wednesday, November 27. The Zimbabwe-born de Grandhomme tweaked his abdomen muscle during the second fielding innings of the encounter. Daryl Mitchell, the Northern Districts all-rounder, who already has donned the national colours in the limited-overs formats, has earned a maiden Test call up.

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“Colin de Grandhomme has a tear to his left lower abdominal muscle, sustained during the second fielding innings in the first Test win over England at Bay Oval,” New Zealand Cricket was quoted as saying in a statement.

De Grandhomme played a crucial role in the Black Caps victory in the opening Test by an innings and 65 runs. In England’s first innings, he got rid of both the openers- Rory Burns and debutant Dominic Sibley and accounted for Joe Root’s wicket in the second innings. With the bat in hand, he scored 65 off 108 and stitched together a stand of 119 runs with BJ Watling, who scored 205.

Apart from De Grandhomme, fast bowler Trent Boult also won’t be able to take part in the final Test. He experienced a pain on the right side of his ribs. The injury forced him to leave the field after bowling only a solitary over in the final day of the opening encounter.

Soon after, he underwent scans on Tuesday and it was confirmed by Gary Stead, the head coach of the Kiwis. New Zealand didn’t want to take the risk with the pacer bearing in mind the upcoming three-match Test series versus Australia, starting next month.

Lockie Ferguson, the fast bowler, and leg spinner Todd Astle were earlier released to take part in the domestic One Day Cup. However, the duo has again joined the national team due to the injury concerns.

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