New Zealand vs Sri Lanka: All-rounder Jimmy Neesham ruled out of one-off T20I; Kiwis name replacement

All-rounder Jimmy Neesham suffered a hamstring strain during the third One-Day International (ODI) between New Zealand and Sri Lanka on Tuesday in Nelson.

Later in the day, it was announced that Neesham was sidelined for the one-off Twenty20 International (T20I) to be played on Friday and fast bowling all-rounder Doug Bracewell was called in as his replacement. 

According to a press release from New Zealand Cricket, physio Vijay Vallabh said Neesham would be unable to recover in time for the one-off match and would instead return home to rest.

“Jimmy felt some tightness in his right hamstring during the bowling innings and left the field for treatment,” said Vallabh.

“He’s iced and compressed the injury and will be reassessed in a couple of days," he added.

Tim Southee will lead New Zealand in the one-off T20I in Auckland after regular skipper Kane Williansom was rested along with with Trent Boult and Colin de Grandhomme.

Southee, who has captained New Zealand twice before, admitted that leading a side in cricket's shortest form can be a bit of a gamble.

"It's about trying to stay a step ahead of the game and a little bit of guessing. The way T20 cricket goes it's (about)trying to take a bit of a punt on what you think is going to happen," he said.

New Zealand: Tim Southee (c), Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Scott Kuggeleijn, Colin Munro, Doug Bracewell, Henry Nicholls, Glenn Phillips, Seth Rance, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Ross Taylor.