The six-hitting world record holder won’t be able to play in the Major League Cricket playoffs or New Zealand’s upcoming triangular series.
Finn Allen, who set the world record with 19 sixes in the opening match of this season’s Major League Cricket, will miss the crucial matches at the end of the tournament, including the final showdown. Due to a foot injury, the explosive opener won’t be available for the San Francisco Unicorns for the remainder of the tournament. He also won’t be able to represent New Zealand in the upcoming triangular series.
In the eliminator match of Major League Cricket, San Francisco Unicorns will face MI New York in Dallas at 6 AM Bangladesh time on Thursday.
In the tournament opener against Washington Freedom, Allen played a blistering 151 off 51 balls, smashing 19 sixes to break the previous 20-over cricket record. He surpassed the record of 18 sixes held by Chris Gayle and Sahil Chouhan.
Though he couldn’t maintain that blazing form in subsequent matches, Allen still scored two half-centuries. With 333 runs at a strike rate of 225 across nine matches, he remains the leading batsman for his team.
He last played on Sunday in the team’s final group-stage match — which now stands as his last in this tournament.
After this tournament, Allen was scheduled to join New Zealand’s national team in Harare for the triangular T20 series against Zimbabwe and South Africa.
However, he now has to return home. A Cricket New Zealand statement says specialists will assess the extent of his injury and when he might return to the field.
The 26-year-old batsman will be replaced in the squad by another player for New Zealand. However, San Francisco Unicorns have confirmed they will not add a replacement to their squad.
San Francisco will also be without Romario Shepherd in the eliminator match. The Caribbean all-rounder has taken eight wickets in five matches and contributed important runs. He has now joined the Guyana Amazon Warriors to play in the Global Super League.
