Neil Wagner replaces injured Matt Henry in New Zealand Test squad for Bangladesh tour

Matt Henry suffered a hamstring injury in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023.

Left-arm pacer Neil Wagner has replaced the injured Matt Henry in the New Zealand Test squad for the upcoming two-match series in Bangladesh.

Henry suffered a hamstring injury during the World Cup match against South Africa on November 1 and was thus ruled out for the remainder of the tournament. He was supposed to be healthy for the Tests in Bangladesh, but fresh scans and examinations revealed that the injury had not healed adequately.

The decision was made to call up 63-Test veteran Neil Wagner with the first of two Tests starting in less than two weeks on November 28. Wagner competed in the Plunket Shield for Northern Districts in Dunedin this week after recovering from a back injury that kept him out of rounds two and three.  

Even though he was not included in New Zealand's original spin-heavy squad for the Bangladesh tour, the last of his 63 Tests was also New Zealand's last in the format, against Sri Lanka in March.

Great to have Neil's skill and experience on the tour: Sam Wells

The first Test against Bangladesh will be the first of New Zealand's current World Test Championship (WTC) cycle, which will run from 2023 to 2025. Wagner had 18 wickets at the end of the previous WTC cycle.

New Zealand selector Sam Wells said they were lucky to have a player of Wagner’s caliber to call on.

“It’ll be great to have Neil’s skill and experience on the tour of Bangladesh. His record speaks for itself and we all know what a great competitor he is. He’s played plenty of cricket in the sub-continent and I know he’s really excited by the challenge ahead,” Wells told NZC.co.nz.

The majority of the New Zealand squad, who also competed in the World Cup in India, is recuperating in Dubai before heading to Sylhet next week. The other Bangladesh-bound players leave on November 21 ahead of the first Test, which begins on November 28 in Sylhet.

Updated New Zealand Test squad for Bangladesh series: Tim Southee (capt), Tom Blundell (wk), Devon Conway, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Kane Williamson, Will Young, Neil Wagner