New Zealand’s Finn Allen Injured Before T20 Tri-Series in Zimbabwe

(Harare, Zimbabwe) – New Zealand Cricket (NZC) announced on Wednesday that opener Finn Allen will miss the upcoming T20 tri-series in Zimbabwe due to a foot injury. The 26-year-old athlete suffered the injury while playing for the San Francisco Unicorns in Major League Cricket.

NZC confirmed that Allen’s recovery timeline will be assessed once he returns to New Zealand for further specialist consultations. In the meantime, the cricket board stated that a replacement player would be selected shortly.

The New Zealand squad, led by captain Mitchell Santner, includes hard-hitting batter Bevon Jacobs, who is expected to make his international debut in the series opener against South Africa on July 16. Leg-spinner Ish Sodhi expressed high hopes for Jacobs, describing him as an exceptional talent.

“This guy’s an absolute monster,” said Sodhi. “He’s one of those guys who can bat at six and hit six from the first ball. It’s an asset we don’t think we’ve had a lot of in New Zealand cricket.”

The T20 tri-series opener will see Zimbabwe face South Africa on July 14. Following that, New Zealand will compete against South Africa on July 16. This series is crucial for New Zealand as they prepare for the upcoming T20 World Cup.

In recent months, New Zealand has demonstrated solid T20I form, winning seven of their last ten matches. The squad is looking forward to capitalizing on this momentum as they head to Harare.