New Zealand's star opener Devon Conway has been ruled out of the 3rd and final T20I of the ongoing series between New Zealand and Australia.
The southpaw sustained an injury to his left thumb while performing wicket-keeping duties for the team during the second T20I at Eden Park in Auckland.
Conway was forced to leave the field of play after the injury and Finn Allen replaced him as wicketkeeper.
The 32-year-old opener couldn't come out to bat for the side and they folded for just 102 runs in pursuit of 175 to remain alive in the series.
He immediately went for an X-ray and that cleared him of a fracture. Conway returned to the ground to join the team but the team management didn't risk him by sending him down into the middle.
A press release issued by New Zealand Cricket has confirmed that the South Africa-born will return to Wellington "to ascertain the extent of the injury to his left thumb".
The Blackcaps have named Tim Seifert as his replacement and he will join the team on February 24 (Saturday) before the 3rd T20I which is slated to be played on Sunday at Eden Park in Auckland.
Earlier, Seifert was ruled out of the series with a torn-abductor. However, he has successfully passed a fitness test conducted on Saturday (February 24) and looks raring to go. Seifert has played 56 games for the Kiwis in the shortest format of the sport and racked up 1204 runs at a strike rate of 134.67.
Seifert's inclusion will give New Zealand the wicket-keeping option they need in the absence of Conway. Seifert has scored eight half-centuries in his T20I career and has the opportunity to make a case for himself with the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in the vicinity.
The hosts have added Otago's speedster Jacob Duffy as cover for the pacers due to the hectic schedule between the games.
