Neil Wagner, a bowler for New Zealand, has issued a statement saying that his time playing Test cricket is not done. Following the fast-horrific bowler’s injuries in the first Test between New Zealand and Sri Lanka, rumors regarding a potential break in his career or, worst yet, a termination surfaced.
In response, he noted that during his entire career, people had written him off and that was not something he wanted to pay attention to. He added that throughout his career, he had been disproving people’s assumptions. “People might make their predictions and stuff like that and I’ve made a career out of proving people wrong. It’s definitely not the end of me. A lot of people said it could be the end of me after my first test. I think the day I call it quits is the day I call it quits probably, or when they don’t pick me again,” Wagner said.
Earlier, Wagner was ruled out of the second Test against Sri Lanka with a bulging disc in his back and a torn right hamstring. The recovery time for his injuries has been said to be almost six weeks. “All the other tests you always deal with a bit of stiffness and soreness or pain and stuff you’ve got to get through and that three overs was the loosest I’ve felt, which is quite frustrating,” he said about his injury.
“It was like a sniper got hold of you – that it was just this massive shock which comes from the disc nerve shock that went down my leg into my foot and a pretty big shock went through my body,” he said. He was a key contributor to New Zealand’s two-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the opening Test at Hagley Oval. He bravely returned to the plate after being removed for medical reasons after being injured and steadfastly held his ground to the very end, scoring the winning run neatly to give his team a crucial victory.
On Day 5 of the first Test, New Zealand defeated Sri Lanka by two wickets. In the important first game of the two-match series, Kane Willaimson produced a magnificent century to lead his team to victory. Black Caps started Day 5 at 28/1 while chasing 285 with Tom Latham and Williamson in the starting lineup. Despite the hosts losing several wickets in rapid succession in their second innings, Williamson remained unbeaten at 121 and led the side to victory. Daryl Mitchell also scored 81 runs in addition to him.
Asitha Fernando took three wickets for Sri Lanka, and Prabhat Jayasuriya took two. With Sri Lanka losing the Test, India clinched their berth in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia, which will be played at the Oval on June 7.
