Black Caps coach Gary Stead takes aim at ICC

By: Niall Anderson

Black Caps head coach Gary Stead has taken a pop at the International Cricket Council after they barred Adam Milne from playing in New Zealand's opening match of the Twenty20 World Cup.

The Black Caps put in a request with the ICC's technical committee for Milne to join their 15-man squad on the morning of their opener against Pakistan in Sharjah, after star seamer Lockie Ferguson was ruled out of the tournament with a calf tear.

MRI scans taken just hours before their first game revealed the extent of Ferguson's injury, but with Milne having trained with the squad as injury cover, and presenting as a like-for-like replacement for Ferguson, the Black Caps were hopeful he would get clearance in time to be selected in the starting XI to face Pakistan.

The Black Caps applied with an independent doctor's report to the technical committee, but after initially thinking they had received clearance, word came through 90 minutes before the match that Milne would not be available.

Stead was disappointed by the process, and felt Milne could have made a difference in his side's five-wicket defeat to Pakistan.

"We tried pretty hard to get across the line with the ICC our replacement player, but it wasn't to be. That was really disappointing for us because Adam Milne is someone waiting in the wings as a like-for-like replacement.

"You can't say you know for sure if it would have made a difference in the game, but for us, on that wicket, pace bowling and hitting the pitch as hard as what Adam does or Lockie does would have been a difference, we think. I think Haris Rauf showed for Pakistan the difference that it can make.

"What we were told is they don't give clearance on the same day, so we'll question that reason and continue to seek clarification on that."

The lack of clarity had an impact on team selection, with the Black Caps initially planning to play Mitchell Santner as their only spinner, leaving out leg spinner Ish Sodhi in favour of a seam-heavy attack.

"You always plan to have the changes like this, the most unsettling thing for us is we probably changed the team three times today on that decision. Originally we thought we'd got the clearance for Adam to play, but then it's been turned down. So we were questioning it with the ICC as much as an hour and a half out from the game and arriving there.

"We weren't going to play Ish Sodhi – we felt that pitch was one that would suit the seamers a lot more and the up-and-down nature of the pitch and the work we'd done around scouting and what the data was telling us was that it pointed towards seam bowlers and pace bowlers being more effective. That's the way we would have gone."

Adding to Stead's frustration, the clearance for Milne to play came through 40 minutes after the match concluded, and he indicated that Milne would come right into the starting XI for what is looming as a crucial clash against India on Monday morning.

"When you look at how we structure our side, we always try to have that pace dominance where we can, and we certainly lacked that."

The Black Caps training staff will also be keeping a close eye on Martin Guptill over the next few days, with the opener suffering a toe injury when batting, and later having to come off the field in the second innings. Stead noted the 35-year-old was in discomfort after the game, but was hopeful he'd improve overnight.