Wrist injury ends Samuels’s NZ tour

Chadwick Walton to replace him in ODIs for five-match series.

WELLINGTON: An injured wrist ruled batsman Marlon Samuels out of the West Indies One-Day International (ODI) squad, which will play New Zealand in a five-match series starting from December 26 in Auckland.

Chadwick Walton was called in as a replacement for the hard-hitting batsmen, team officials said on Tuesday.

West Indies head coach Ottis Gibson said Samuels would return home to see if surgery was required on his right wrist, in a major blow for the tourists as they look to bounce back from a 2-0 Test series defeat.

“Samuels’s injury is unfortunate at such a tough time for the team, but it gives another player the opportunity to make a name for him in this series,” he said.

Gibson said Walton, who has played just two ODIs back in 2009, had been travelling with the team and would relish any chance he was offered.

“He [Walton] has been working hard, and I feel confident that when his opportunity comes he will make the most of it,” said the coach.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 25^th, 2013.

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