London, Aug 8 New Zealand’s right-arm fast bowler Matt Henry has been signed up by Welsh Fire as a replacement for the injured England seam-bowling all-rounder Chris Woakes in the ongoing edition of The Hundred men’s competition.
Henry, 33, will link up with the Fire squad following the conclusion of New Zealand’s ongoing second Test against Zimbabwe at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo and is expected to be available for selection from their match against Manchester Originals on August 13.
Henry has previously represented Fire in eight matches in last two seasons, where he picked up 11 wickets. The fast bowler, who is all set for his third stint with the Fire, was recently in action for Somerset, picking 16 wickets in 10 T20 Blast appearances for the club.
The development comes after Woakes, 36, dislocated his left shoulder while fielding on day one of England’s fifth Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy Test against India at The Oval. Despite the injury keeping him away from bowling duties, Woakes came out to bat with his left arm in a sling on day five’s play, earning him plaudits worldwide for his courageous act.
Woakes looked in pain while running between the wickets and didn’t face a ball during the last-wicket stand as Gus Atkinson farmed the strike. It didn’t help though as England eventually fell short by six runs in a chase of 374, with India levelling the five-match Test series at 2-2.
Welsh Fire began their campaign in The Hundred with a loss to Northern Superchargers on Thursday. Henry will now be the fourth men's overseas player in the Fire squad alongside Australia trio of Steve Smith, Chris Green and Riley Meredith. As per The Hundred’s rules, only three overseas players are permitted to play in the starting eleven.
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