New Zealand was hit by the injury of their premier all-rounder, Glenn Phillips, who was picked during the Major League Cricket (MLC) 2025 and was ruled out of the T20I tri-series against South Africa and Zimbabwe recently. The depth of the injury was such that he won’t be able to recover in time for the upcoming two-match Test series against Zimbabwe.

As a replacement, the New Zealand Cricket board has added the off-spin all-rounder, Michael Bracewell, for the first Test of the series in Bulawayo. The 34-year-old was not initially part of the original squad due to his commitments with the Hundred. He, however, was already in Zimbabwe as a part of the Blackcaps’ T20I squad of the tri-series.

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However, with the schedule allowing him to feature at least for the first Test of the series, their head coach, Rob Walter, reckoned that it was a straightforward decision to get him into the 15-member squad, thanks to the skills he brings to the table in any format of the game.

Michael Bracewell replaces injured Glenn Phillips for New Zealand’s first Test against Zimbabwe

‘Glenn's injury provided a gap in the Test squad, and Michael is the closest like-for-like replacement. His experience and skillset will be a great asset and allow us to keep the same balance of the team.’ The former Protea and current New Zealand head coach, Rob Walter, expressed this during a recent statement.

The Otago batter has a short experience of the longest format with 259 runs in 14 innings at an average of under 20, with the best score of unbeaten 74 runs, besides picking up 24 wickets at an average of 41.79. His last Test match came in 2024 at Wellington against Sri Lanka, having debuted at Trent Bridge a year ago against England.

Bracewell will later return to the United Kingdom and link up with his franchise of the Hundred, Southern Brave, after the first Test. A decision on the replacement for the second Test will be taken in due course, as the released statement of the NZC informed. The two-match series begins later this week, marking the return of the Kiwis to Zimbabwe after nine years.