New Zealand ace Conway ruled out of first Test against Australia

Wellington: New Zealand’s batting ace Devon Conway has joined their pace bowling spearhead Kyle Jamieson on the sidelines for the first Test against Australia because the thumb injury he picked up during the Twenty20 series failed to recover in time.

Conway saw a specialist in Wellington on Tuesday and was ruled out as a result of that consultation, after previously contemplating the possibility of batting with a thumb guard.

Devon Conway is one of New Zealand’s form batsmen in Test cricket, but a thumb injury sustained as a T20 wicketkeeper will keep him out of this week’s match against Australia.

His availability for the second Test in Christchurch will be determined in coming days.

“It’s disappointing for Devon to be ruled out on the eve of an important match,” New Zealand’s coach Gary Stead said.

“He’s a class player batting at the top of the order for us and I know he was really looking forward to this series.”

Young batter Will Young is expected to open alongside Tom Latham in place of Conway, who has been among the world’s leading top order players over the past four years.

Jamieson had previously been ruled out due to a back stress fracture, while the left-arm paceman Neil Wagner has retired after being told he would not be considered for the series by selectors.

More to come

News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.