Corey Anderson ruled out of Australia Tests

Corey Anderson ruled out of Australia Tests: The back injury that has sidelined Corey Anderson since the tour of England has also ruled him out of New Zealand’s upcoming Test series in Australia. The 24-year-old Anderson has been unable to recover quickly enough to withstand the demands of the approaching Test series, and has been replaced by Northern Knights all-rounder, Mitchell Santner.

Anderson suffered a stress related injury to his back in New Zealand’s first Test loss to England at Lord’s in June, forcing the 24-year-old out of the series.

Black Caps selector Gavin Larsen said, in terms of bowling, Anderson was unfortunately behind in his recovery schedule and simply could not have been risked for the Australian tour.

“Corey hasn’t been able to recover as quickly as we hoped and we’ve chosen not to try to rush him back,” said Larsen.

“We’ve always said there were a number of checkpoints for him to meet before our departure date, and we’re now in a position to confirm he’s not ready” he added.

Santner (23) was first selected by the Kiwis on this year’s tour of England and played in the five One-Day Internationals, before missing the tour of Zimbabwe and South Africa after breaking his thumb in a training mishap. In five ODIs he scored 97 runs at an average of 24.25 and took seven wickets at 32.85 each with his left-arm spin.

Larsen says Santner’s form in those games was enough to secure the selection.

“Mitch clearly isn’t a direct, like-for-like replacement for Corey but in terms of the bigger picture he’s an all-rounder who can bat at No. 6 or 7 and he’s also a front-line bowler,” Larsen said.

New Zealand depart for Australia on October 20 and will play three Tests including the first twilight match in Adelaide, where a pink ball will be used. The first test in Brisbane begins on Nov. 5.