NAPIER, New Zealand – New Zealand captain Ross Taylor is in doubt for his team’s one-day and Twenty20 matches against Zimbabwe after retiring hurt with a calf muscle strain on the second day of the one-off test on Friday.
Taylor was taken to hospital for scans after retiring at 122 in the 10th of the 15.2 overs that were bowled before rain stopped play.
There was very little play on day two due to rain, with New Zealand moving its score from 331-5 to 392-5 in the 106th over of its first innings.
The umpires called stumps at 3.45pm when no play had been possible in the middle session. Play will begin 30 minutes early on each of the remaining three days in an effort to reclaim some lost time.
Taylor, who is leading New Zealand in a test for the fourth time and for the first time at home, had batted for 257 minutes, faced 201 balls and hit 14 fours and two sixes when he was forced to suspend his innings. He received medical attention on the field but was unable to continue.
The results of Taylor’s scans were not immediately available on Friday but his injury was thought serious enough to rule him out of the three one-dayers and two Twenty20 internationals the teams will play over the next three weeks. Brendon McCullum is expected to captain New Zealand in Taylor’s absence.
The injury occured as Taylor took a quick single in the 10th over of the day’s play. He appeared to stumble as he set off for the run, then limped to the non-striker’s end.
New Zealand was still able to consolidate its strong start to the test in the brief period of play on Friday, adding 61 runs to its overnight score without the loss of a wicket.
B.J. Watling reached his second half century in seven tests — his first was also at Napier — and was 52 not out at stumps.
Doug Bracewell was 11 not out, having survived an easy catching chance when he was only two, with Forster Mutizwa grassing a straightforward opportunity at short cover.
The error was a blow to the morale of the Zimbabwe bowlers who had bowled without success throughout the morning after claiming five wickets in the last two sessions of the first day.
Medium-pacer Hamilton Masakadza remained the best of the bowlers at stumps with 1-45 from 21 overs.
