• Home
  • Breaking News
  • No Fairytale Comeback For Neil Wagner Nz Name Ben Sears For 2Nd Test Vs Australia

No Fairytale Comeback For Neil Wagner! NZ Name Ben Sears For 2nd Test Vs Australia

Ben Sears during a training session in Rawalpindi (AP)Ben Sears during a training session in Rawalpindi (AP)

Neil Wagner will not be revoking his retirement call to feature in New Zealand’s series-deciding second Test match against Australia, even though captain Tim Southee had hinted out a possibility of the speedster’s potential comeback.


Wagner to remain retired as NZC name uncapped speedster

Neil Wagner announced his retirement from international cricket on February 27, i.e., a couple of days prior to the launch of New Zealand’s Wellington Test against Australia.

While the hosts slumped to a huge 172-run defeat at the venue to concede an early lead to Australia, young fast bowler William O'Rourke also sustained a hamstring injury to add to New Zealand’s woes.

After the defeat, ‘BlackCaps’ skipper Tim Southee did not rule out the possibility of Wagner revoking his retirement call to feature in his country’s playing XI for the forthcoming series-decider, considering if young William fails to attain his recovery on time.

As it turned out, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) have confirmed that William has been indeed ruled out of the second Test owing to his injury. 

Moreover, on March 4, the board also named uncapped speedster Ben Sears into the squad as his replacement, thus denting Wagner’s prospects of a dream return to the national setup.


New Zealand crushed to a 172-run defeat at Wellington as they failed to chase down 369 on Day 4 of the Test match. The defeat also ensured that the ‘Black Caps’ slipped to number two on the 2023-25 WTC points table.

With series and crucial WTC points on the line, Tim Southee and co. will now face their Antipodean rivals at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch between March 8 and March 12.