Auckland, July 2 (IANS) New Zealand fast bowler Ben Sears has been ruled out of the upcoming ODI series against the West Indies with an ankle injury, with Ben Lister being named as a replacement in the 16-man squad.

NZC said Sears had experienced some ongoing pain in his ankle since the four-day Test against Ireland in May, which flared up during the final day of the third Test against England at Trent Bridge, “so a precautionary decision has been made to send him home to New Zealand for further treatment.”

Lister will assemble with the squad in Guyana over the coming days. The 30-year-old medium pacer, who made his ODI debut in 2023 against Pakistan in Karachi, has featured 17 times for New Zealand (4 ODIs and 13 T20Is), taking 17 wickets and was part of the team’s last ODI series, against Bangladesh in April.

Injuries to key fast bowlers have been a major concern for New Zealand, as Blair Tickner will return home for scheduled surgery on his ankle and was unavailable for selection for Windies ODIs.

Duffy, who missed the recent Test series in England to welcome the birth of his first child, is set to return to international cricket for the first time since the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final in March.

Kyle Jamieson, Matt Henry, and Will O’Rourke will miss the series to rest after a heavy workload during the first half of 2026.

The five-game series gets underway in Guyana with the first three matches on July 11, 13 and 16, before the series moves to Bridgetown in Barbados for the final two fixtures on July 19 and 21.

New Zealand created history on their previous ODI tour to the West Indies in 2022, when they won their first-ever ODI series in the Caribbean.

New Zealand squad for ODI series against West Indies: Mitchell Santner (capt), Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Kristian Clarke, Jacob Duffy, Matthew Fisher, Dean Foxcroft, Mitchell Hay (wk), Nick Kelly, Tom Latham (wk), Jayden Lennox, Ben Lister, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Nathan Smith, Will Young

–IANS

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