Injured Neesham out of final T20

New Zealand allrounder James Neesham has been ruled out of the second T20 against Sri Lanka to be held on November 21 in Pallekele. The injury that ruled him out was a result of a sprain he sustained on the little finger of his left hand in the third ODI in Dambulla.

Neesham had injured the finger while fielding a return hit by Nuwan Kulasekara off his own bowling. The following day, an x-ray revealed no fracture to the bone, but a subsequent ultrasound showed there was moderate damage to the tendon. If the first T20 had gone ahead, without rain intervening, then Neesham would not have played in it either, as he had been ruled out of both T20 matches.

Paul Close, the New Zealand physiotherapist, believed Neesham would need at least a month to recover. "It's important we allow Jimmy's finger sufficient time to heal in order to achieve a full recovery. We expect Jimmy to be back playing again in around four to six weeks."