Brooke Halliday ruled out of remainder of Bangladesh series due to hand injury

Brooke Halliday | Source: Twitter

In what comes as a big blow for New Zealand Women, star batter Brooke Halliday has been ruled out of the remainder of the white-ball series against Bangladesh due to a hand injury.

Rebecca Burns has been called into the squad for the remaining two T20Is, while Georgia Plimmer, who was initially included in the T20I squad only, will stay with the team as batting cover for the three forthcoming ODIs, starting December 11.  

As for Halliday, the Northern Districts captain was hit on the hand during Northern Districts' Hallyburton Johnstone Shield match against Canterbury Magicians last week. A scan revealed a fracture, which is expected to keep her out of action for at least six weeks.

The four to six weeks prescribed rehabilitation means that Brooke Halliday will be out of action for the entire white-ball series against Bangladesh Women but should recover in time for the ICC Women's T20 World Cup in South Africa in February. 

The head coach of the White Ferns, Ben Sawyer, reckoned they initially thought Brooke's injury wasn't that serious, and the team was hoping for her return for the third T20I and the three-match ODI series. He also stated that Brooke would recover on time and participate in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022.

Here's what Sawyer said

"We're clearly disappointed for Brooke. She's a big part of this team - and the batting group in particular - but we know she'll be applying her hard-working attitude to her rehabilitation, and will be available as soon as possible,

"There's a lot of cricket coming up over the next few months - most notably the T20 World Cup next year - and we're confident she'll be back in time."

Meanwhile, the hosts lead the series 1-0 following their thumping 132-runs victory over Bangladesh Women. The second T20I is set to take place in Dunedin on Sunday, December 4, with the final scheduled in Queenstown on Wednesday, December 7. 

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