Ben Sears heads to Melbourne for rehab stint ahead of Super Smash return

New Zealand fast bowler Ben Sears will spend time in Victoria Premier Cricket in Melbourne as he continues his recovery from a hamstring injury. He is set to play six matches (five T20s and one 50-over game)for Melbourne University Cricket Club, with the aim of being ready for the start of the Super Smash season with Wellington in late December. If fully fit, Sears is expected to feature in New Zealand’s plans for the T20 World Cup in February.

The 27-year-old has been out of action since the T20I series against Australia in early October, following a recurrence of a previous hamstring injury that had already ruled him out of the Champions Trophy in February. With New Zealand’s domestic schedule currently focused on the Plunket Shield, the move to Melbourne was made to ensure Sears gets adequate short-format match time during his rehabilitation.

"Ben has missed a large portion of cricket in two out of the last three summers, so it was important for him to get as much cricket as possible on grass wickets leading into his Super Smash return," Rob Walter said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

"He's a big part of our future plans and with an important period of T20 cricket ahead of us, we want to ensure Ben has the safest and most appropriate return to play plan in place. He's been progressing well and we're looking forward to seeing how he gets on in Melbourne,” he added.

Sears, who has represented New Zealand in one Test, four ODIs and 22 T20Is, is among several Kiwi fast bowlers who have recently been sidelined. Will O’Rourke is recovering from a back stress fracture, Lockie Ferguson has been dealing with a hamstring issue, and Adam Milne is out with an ankle injury. Meanwhile, Kyle Jamieson’s return from a back injury is being carefully managed.

Despite the setbacks, New Zealand’s pace depth has been evident in recent white-ball series against West Indies and England, where Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes and Blair Tickner have all impressed.