Wellington, Dec 10 (IANS) New Zealand faced another significant injury setback as fast bowler Blair Tickner suffered a suspected dislocation of his left shoulder and was carried off the field on a stretcher during Day 1 of the second Test against the West Indies at Basin Reserve on Wednesday.

Tickner was the standout performer on the opening day of the second Test, as he claimed a four-wicket haul but injured himself in the 67th over while attempting to prevent a boundary at fine leg. Chasing a flick from Tevon Imlach, he dived full-length near the rope and stayed down immediately. The medical staff from the New Zealand camp and the venue attended to him on the boundary edge before he was stretchered off. He later left the ground in an ambulance, as per ESPNcricinfo.

Tickner’s injury comes at a time when New Zealand have already lost Matt Henry, Mitchell Santner, and Nathan Smith for the rest of the Test series owing to their respective injuries. Henry (calf tear) and Smith (side strain) sustained their injuries during the drawn first Test in Christchurch, while Santner (groin) was ruled out before the match. Wicketkeeper Tom Blundell was also ruled out of the second Test after he suffered the injury while batting in the first Test in Christchurch last week.

New Zealand made five changes to their XI for the second Test, with Mitchell Hay and Michael Rae making their Test debuts. Hay took the gloves from the injured Tom Blundell, while seamer Rae made his maiden New Zealand appearance in place of the injured Henry. Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips and Tickner came in for Smith, Michael Bracewell and Will Young.

Riding on Tickner’s 4-32 and Rae’s 3-66, New Zealand bowled out the West Indies at 205 after 75 overs in their first innings. New Zealand ended the day at 24 for no loss.

After the first Test ended in a draw, both teams are searching for their first win in the 2025-27 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle.

–IANS

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