New Zealand lose Lockie Ferguson for Champions Trophy

New Zealand will be without fast bowler Lockie Ferguson for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, but they should have opener Rachin Ravindra back for their first match against Pakistan on Wednesday.

Ferguson is out due to a hamstring injury, while Ravindra is on track to have recovered from a head knock sustained in the recent Tri-Nations Series.

The absence of Ferguson makes the Black Caps’ campaign a little tougher, leaving Matt Henry as the only senior quick in the 15-man squad.

Ravindra’s return is a boost, however, and ensures NZ remain at $8 in Champions Trophy title odds across leading cricket betting sites.

“His recovery’s going good, but just need to make sure since it was a pretty nasty injury,” New Zealand captain Tom Latham said of Ravindra, who was struck by a ball against Pakistan 10 days ago.

“When it’s a head injury you just need to make sure things are all right, so just going through the protocols he needs to go through and we’ll wait and see.”

The Kiwis have been in fine form over the past fortnight, winning the Tri-Nations Series and their warm-up match against Afghanistan.

Latham believes that momentum is serving them well as they prepare for their opening fixture against Pakistan.

“We’ve played three games here and a warm-up game, so guys are reasonably familiar with conditions and it’s about playing our brand to the best of our ability,” he said.

“It’s nice to be performing.

“Throughout the tri-series and the warm-up game, we’re fortunate everyone within the squad has had some time with the ball or bat.

“Nice that we’ve been playing well through the tri-series.

“We were put under pressure in all three games and we’ve obviously managed to overcome that and come out on the right side.

“We’ve got the results but at the same time, it’s nice we’ve been able to overcome that pressure which will hopefully hold us in good stead.”

Despite beating Pakistan twice in the past fortnight, New Zealand head into their Champions Trophy opener as underdogs with top bookmakers.

The Black Caps are paying $2.10 to win at Bet365, with Pakistan slightly favoured at $1.72.

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