Santner, Phillips among big names injured for New Zealand ahead of long home season

New Zealand are in the middle of a major injury crisis ahead of their long home season as Mitchell Santner, Glenn Phillips, Will O'Rourke and Finn Allen are nursing various ailments. The Blackcaps will host Australia, England and West Indies for multi-format series beginning from October 1, followed by a T20I series against South Africa in March 2026.

However, they’re likely to miss most of their first-choice players due to an injury crisis in the team. Fast bowler Will O'Rourke has been ruled out of action for three months after scans revealed that he has a stress fracture in his lower back, informed New Zealand Cricket in a media release.

The 24-year-old picked up the injury during the first Test against Zimbabwe earlier this month and was sent home, where scans revealed the extent of his injury. Apart from him, all-rounder Glenn Phillips has suffered a groin injury while opening batter Finn Allen is recovering from his right foot surgery. The duo has been ruled out of the three-match T20I series against Australia played for the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy, beginning from October 1.

Allen is likely to spend three months on the sidelines, while Phillips will be reassessed in a month to ascertain his potential return to play. To add to the misery, limited-overs captain Mitchell Santner, who recently returned after playing in The Hundred for Northern Superchargers, is also battling a groin pain

Santner is due for abdominal surgery and will take a month to recover. He’s set to be in a race against time to be fit for the Australia series. Meanwhile, the Kiwis also have some positive news amid the long list of injuries as fast bowler Ben Sears has recovered from the side-strain which kept him out of the Zimbabwe tour and is likely to be available for the long home summer.

New Zealand head coach Rob Walter revealed that they will name Santner in the squads for the Australia series and will assess his rest and rehabilitation in the meantime.

“We expect to name him in our squad when we announce it in a couple of weeks' time, and from there we can assess how his rest and rehabilitation progresses following surgery, before making a call on the eve of the series,” said Walter in a media release.

After three T20Is against Australia, New Zealand will play as many T20Is and ODIs against England starting from October 18. They will further play five T20Is, three ODIs and as many Tests against West Indies, starting from November 5. The West Indies series will also mark New Zealand’s first assignment in the World Test Championship (WTC) cycle 2025-27.