Auckland, July 19: New Zealand all-rounder Glenn Phillips has been ruled out of their ongoing tour to Zimbabwe due to a right groin injury. Phillips picked up the injury ahead of the tour, during the final of Major League Cricket.Phillips was assessed on arrival in Zimbabwe and it was deemed that he would require a number of weeks to recover. Tim Robinson, who joined the squad as a cover, will remain with the team for the rest of the T20 Tri-Series also involving South Africa.
Phillips played 10 matches for Washington Freedom in MLC, including the final which they lost to MI New York, and scored 186 runs at an average of 62 and a strike-rate of 139.84.
Earlier this year, Phillips also missed the majority of the IPL after sustaining a similar groin injury while coming on as a substitute for his side Gujarat Titans.
New Zealand are also missing the services of Finn Allen who was initially named in the squad but later ruled out after suffering a foot injury whilst playing for the San Francisco Unicorns in Major League Cricket.
“It’s obviously disappointing to lose someone of Glenn’s calibre. Much like Finn, we really feel for Glenn and that he misses out on this series,” said New Zealand’s new head coach, Rob Walter.
“We know he was eager to get out on the field for the Blackcaps and unfortunately, he won’t be able to do that for this series. We know he’ll work hard to get himself back onto the park, and I look forward to when that happens,” Walter added.
Phillips, who’s now set to fly back to New Zealand with Mitch Hay and Jimmy Neesham, two other travelling reserves, was also a part of New Zealand’s Test squad for their two upcoming Tests against Zimbabwe. The Blackcaps are yet to name a replacement.