Australia's best betting sites

Black Caps’ Matt Henry battling injury before Champions Trophy

by

New Zealand Cricket news

Matt Henry is in doubt for the Champions Trophy final between New Zealand and India on Sunday in Dubai, with the Kiwi pacer still recovering from a shoulder injury suffered in the semi-finals.

Henry is the top wicket-taker of the tournament so far and a key cog in the Black Caps’ well-oiled bowling machine, claiming 10 scalps across four matches at an economy of 5.32.

He was forced to leave the field against South Africa in Lahore after taking a catch, and while he returned to complete his quota of overs, the 33-year-old’s health remains in question heading into Sunday’s match.

“He’s obviously pretty sore just from landing on the point of his shoulder,” New Zealand head coach Gary Stead said on Friday.

“Hopefully he will be okay.”

“I guess the positive thing from our perspective is he got back out there to bowl.

“We’ve had some scans and stuff done on him, and we’re going to give him every chance to be playing in this match.

“But it’s still a little bit unknown at this stage.”

The absence of Henry would be a big hit for New Zealand, who is priced at $3.75 by Australian bookmakers to be the Black Caps top bowler in the final.

New Zealand are already $3 underdogs across cricket betting sites heading into the championship match, with tournament favourites India priced at $1.40 to claim their third Champions Trophy crown on Sunday.

India also hold the advantage of not having had to travel at all the past fortnight, playing all four of their games in Dubai.

New Zealand, meanwhile, have bounced around five different venue now—something that Stead confessed has taken its toll on the team.

“There’s no doubt that coming here after Lahore – we had a full day of travel yesterday – takes it out of you a little bit,” he said.

“But we’ve got a couple of days now, a little bit of recovery and a little bit of planning and training towards the game.

“But I guess we’re deep into the tournament now and sometimes it’s not always a lot of training that you need.

“It’s just getting your body and your mind right to compete in the final.

“That will be our key focus over the next two days.”

Sports news

Topics: Champions Trophy, Cricket, India, New Zealand

More News

All Recent News