Tearaway quick Ben Sears has been added to New Zealand’s squad for the T20 World Cup as a travelling reserve, head coach Rob Walter confirmed on January 30.
Initially left out of the squad, Sears has returned after Kyle Jamieson earned a place in the main squad following an injury to first-choice pacer Adam Milne, which ruled him out of the tournament. Since recovering from a hamstring injury, Sears has been brilliant. In the ongoing Super Smash, the right-arm pacer has taken 15 wickets at an average of 17.93 for the Wellington Firebirds.
“Ben’s worked hard to get himself back on the park, and it’s been great to see him back playing and performing well,” Walter said. “He’s had a full Super Smash campaign with the Firebirds, where he was the competition’s joint second-highest wicket-taker in the round-robin stage, with 15 wickets from nine games.”
The hamstring injury also kept him out of contention for selection in the five-match T20I series against India. Despite not having played a T20 game for some time, Sears has pipped Zakary Foulkes, who has been a regular feature of the T20I team over the past six months.
“It will be great to have Ben (Sears) with us here in India and ready to make an impact at the World Cup should someone get injured,” added Walter.
Sears, who has taken 23 wickets in 22 T20Is, will link up with the squad in Mumbai ahead of New Zealand’s warm-up match against the USA on February 5.
New Zealand begin their World Cup campaign against Afghanistan in Chennai on February 8. This will be followed by group matches against the UAE, South Africa and Canada.
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