Ben Sears Heads to Melbourne for Club Cricket Return as Hamstring Recovery Continues
New Zealand fast bowler Ben Sears will spend the coming weeks playing club cricket in Melbourne as he works his way back from a hamstring injury that has sidelined him since early October.
Sears, 27, is set to feature in six matches for Melbourne University Cricket Club — five T20s and one 50-over game — as part of a structured return-to-play programme. The stint is designed to give him valuable match time on grass wickets ahead of the Super Smash, where he could return for Wellington in late December. If fit, Sears is expected to be firmly in New Zealand’s plans for the T20 World Cup in February.
The decision to send Sears to Victoria Premier cricket comes amid a shortage of short-format domestic fixtures in New Zealand, with the Plunket Shield currently underway.
“Ben has missed a large portion of cricket in two out of the last three summers, so it was important for him to get as much cricket as possible on grass wickets leading into his Super Smash return,” New Zealand head coach Rob Walter said. “He’s a big part of our future plans. With an important period of T20 cricket ahead, we want to ensure he has the safest and most appropriate return-to-play plan in place.”
Sears has played one Test, four ODIs and 22 T20Is, but joins a growing list of New Zealand fast bowlers dealing with injury. Will O’Rourke is recovering from a back stress fracture, Lockie Ferguson is managing a hamstring issue, and Adam Milne is sidelined with an ankle injury. Kyle Jamieson, meanwhile, continues a carefully monitored comeback from a long-term back problem.
Despite the injury toll, New Zealand’s depth in pace stocks has impressed in recent white-ball series against West Indies and England, with Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes and Blair Tickner all stepping up.
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