(Reuters) – Injury-prone paceman Mark Gillespie has been ruled out of New Zealand’s two-test series in West Indies after failing to recover from an ankle injury, the country’s cricket board (NZC) said today.
The Black Caps have suffered a spate of injuries with captain Ross Taylor, Ronnie Hira and Jacob Oram all getting hurt while fielding during the first Twenty20 international against the West Indies in Florida last week.
Taylor was ruled out of the second Twenty20 match and is also expected to miss the early part of the upcoming five-match ODI series in West Indies.
NZC were forced to add left-arm seamer Trent Boult, who was part of the squad for the two tests, to the ODI squad to bolster the team’s bowling resources.
The 32-year-old Gillespie, who missed out on a central contract with New Zealand recently, suffered extensive bone bruising and ligament damage after severely spraining his ankle while running.
“Mark unfortunately has had to withdraw from the upcoming test series against the West Indies having not responded to treatment in time to be fully fit,” national selection manager Kim Littlejohn said in a statement.
“As a precautionary measure Mark feels that it would be the right decision to stay in Wellington to continue working on his rehabilitation.”
New Zealand, who lost both the Twenty20 matches against the Caribbean side, have yet to decide on a replacement for Gillespie in the test squad.
