Ashton Agar could only watch from the sidelines as injury issues forced him out of the majority of the home season. He will be hopeful about making up for all the lost time during the T20I series against New Zealand away from home.
During the ODI series against India, Ashton ended up injuring his finger and calf. It ruled him out of the remainder of the ODI and T20I series against the visitors and also forced him to miss the entire Big Bash League. Ashton had to watch his side Perth Scorchers finish runners-up after losing to Sydney Sixers in the final merely a few days ago. Back in Western Australia, Ashton was readying himself for the tour of New Zealand before being interrupted by Covid-19 lockdown in Perth earlier in the week.
Even though he might have missed the series against India, Ashton Agar was recently named the T20I Player of the Year at the Cricket Australia awards. The T20 World Cup is something that will be on his mind and as such, getting back to the rhythm with proper game time in New Zealand will be key.
“It has been frustrating, there has been so much cricket on,” he said at Sydney airport. “All I’ve been doing is watching cricket, I’m itching to get out there and that’s a nice feeling to have when you come back after a while to really want to get out there and play. Lucky I’ve got that opportunity coming up. The injury is coming along nicely. My finger is all healed up and my calf is going really so hopefully fit for game while.”
Agar enjoyed another solid year with Australia with figures of 30 wickets at 20.86 and an economy rate of 6.87, which includes the hat trick against South Africa. He has formed a menacing partnership with Adam Zampa and the pair has proven to be reliable time and time again. Despite all the success, Agar knows that getting results in New Zealand will not be easy. The decks in New Zealand are harsh on spinners: in the last two years, it has witnessed an economy rate of 8.96 from spinners, the joint highest among the top-ranked T20I countries.
Tanveer Sangha, who has been very impressive in the BBL this season, will join Agar and Zampa to share the responsibilities of the spin department. Australia will also miss the presence of stars like Steve Smith, Pat Cummins and David Warner for this tour.