Matt Henry suffered a thumb injury:

New Zealand’s medium-fast bowler, Matt Henry, suffered a thumb injury on Day 1 of the third Test between New Zealand and Australia in Sydney.

Just like England’s tour to South Africa is filled with misfortune, New Zealand’s tour to Australia is nothing too less than that.

Matt Henry sustained the injury when he was struck by a drive from Australia’s opener, Joe Burns. He returned to the field after getting initial treatment and bowled 21 overs till the end of the day. New Zealand Cricket had revealed that the X-rays confirm a broken thumb but he will continue to bowl in the Test.

“An X-ray last night confirmed Matt Henry has broken his left thumb following a blow on day one. It has been strapped and placed in a splint. Henry will continue to bowl in the Test with his batting match dependent,” a media release from New Zealand Cricket read.

New Zealand coach, Gary Stead, about picking Matt Henry over Tim:

Henry was selected over Tim Southee based on pace. New Zealand’s coach Gary Stead said that they needed more ‘pace’ on the MCG wicket.

“We just felt that we wanted a little bit more pace out there with what Matt Henry offers over Tim. And given the workload, Tim’s had – not just in the last two Tests, but if you put the last four together (including the two-Test series against England) it’s somewhere around 200 overs in a short period of time. We just felt that what Matt offered might have given us a point of difference,” New Zealand coach said.

New Zealand previously suffered Lockie Ferguson’s calf injury on the first day of the first Test at Perth, which ruled him out of the rest of the series. Trent Boult fractured his hand in the second Test, while Kane Williamson, Henry Nicholls, and Mitchell Santner are suffering from flu.