Allen back in NZ set-up after Covid-19 bout

New Zealand cricketer Finn Allen, who was found Covid-19 positive after coming to Bangladesh from UK, joined the team inside the bio-secure bubble as he was found Covid-19 negative in two consecutive tests.

Allen is a top-order batsman who smashed an innings of 71 runs off just 29 balls against Bangladesh in April, is now available for the next four matches of the series, and that excites the Blackcaps coach Glenn Pocknall.

“He has returned two negative results, so that is great for us. He is a very attacking batsman. He will add a lot of firepower to our batting line-up and is a big part of our squad.

Hopefully, he can come into the squad as soon as possible. He will be considered (for selection), but it is a matter of when,” he said.

Pocknall also said that the New Zealand team management will assess his conditions before picking Allen.

“He has just come off Covid, so there are some unknowns about how he will be physically. He is fine now, but we have to assess the effects in these conditions before we decide which game he comes back,” he told the media on Thursday.

New Zealand called Matt Henry to replace Allen, who has already reached Bangladesh and will come out of mandatory in-room isolation on Friday.

The Blackcaps suffered a crushing defeat in the first match of the series as they were all-out for a meagre 60 runs on a strange surface. New Zealand spinner Ajaj Patel though, thinks that it is a learning curve for them.

“We will take a lot of learnings from the first game. It was nice to finally get out there. We have been training for a few days but you never know what it was going to be like until you get out in the middle. We will learn from it pretty quickly and adapt for the next one,” he told the media.