Lockie Ferguson takes charge of the attack from the fourth game, while Adam Milne and Jacob Duffy carry it in Wellington on 27 October. New Zealand Cricket confirmed on 25 October that Henry will miss the last three T20Is against India before joining the ODI squad on 2 November. Blair Tickner steps in as the first replacement, yet the pace group behind him leans more on numbers than on experience, and game three will show how thin that cover really is.
Santner and the Squad Update
The announcement removed Henry from games three, four and five, played in Wellington on 27 October, Auckland on 30 October and Hamilton on 1 November. He then moved across to the ODI squad on 2 November. Two explanations appeared on the same day, one pointing to workload management and the other to a tight calf, and the coverage of Santner’s comments differs on which he actually described.
Tickner is called up for all three remaining games, Clarkson joins for the fourth and fifth, and Fisher arrives as cover for game three. Walter said the depth in the group allows pacers to be rotated for workload reasons. That framing presents the change as a managed decision rather than an emergency. Staggering the replacements this way also suggests the selectors want options instead of one direct successor.
Matt Henry out of New Zealand T20I series
His two games against India brought 57 conceded without a wicket in 3.4 overs, then no wicket for 11 in two overs, after which calf tightness forced him off. The calf problem struck in the second of those games, so the injury and the figures arrived together. Neither outing gave the selectors a wicket to hold onto, so the absence costs them potential more than present form.
The workload argument rests on a thin record. His last T20I came on 8 March 2026 and his last Test on 17 June 2026, while the full picture across formats is unavailable. His 53 career wickets at 23.07 stand as the benchmark his replacements will be measured against, and none of the three newcomers has near that tally.
Pacer Availability for Games Three to Five
Game three is the thinnest of the lot. Ferguson sits it out, and Kyle Jamieson is available for that match alone before leaving for Ford Trophy duties. That leaves Duffy and Milne as the only established pair on hand, with Tickner brought in beside them. Tickner arrives with 19 wickets, the smallest career tally among the pacers who can play.
From game four, the picture steadies, because Ferguson returns and the squad no longer has to lean on a single-match loan. Zak Foulkes was ruled out before the series with an injury and has not featured at all.
| Bowler | Games 3 to 5 | Career wickets | Figures so far |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matt Henry | Out for all three | 53 | 0/57 and 0/11 |
| Lockie Ferguson | Out Game 3, back for 4 and 5 | 76 | 1/34 and 0/37 |
| Kyle Jamieson | Game 3 only | 30 | Yet to play |
| Blair Tickner | Games 3, 4 and 5 | 19 | Yet to play |
| Jacob Duffy | Available for all three | 62 | 1/41 in Game 2 |
| Adam Milne | Available for all three | 65 | 1/43 in Game 1 |
| Zak Foulkes | Out, injured | 4 | Did not feature |
Ferguson Gets the Senior Role
Ferguson owns the biggest tally in the group with 76 wickets, ahead of Milne on 65 and Duffy on 62. His early figures of 1/34 and 0/37, three overs each, were costly, but nobody else in the squad can match his experience once he is back. Duffy and Milne have both been expensive as well, with 1/41 from 3.5 overs in game two and 1/43 from three overs in game one. Duffy does carry a home economy of 7.25 across his career, which suggests Wellington and Auckland suit him better than the numbers so far.
The headline remains Matt Henry out of the New Zealand T20I series, yet the lasting question is who owns the new ball when Ferguson is absent, and Tickner is untested. If that spot goes to Duffy, the home record gives him a real case, and the management will learn plenty from the first night in Wellington.