Captain Mitchell Santner has hinted that New Zealand’s star paceman Matt Henry may not play in the T20 World Cup semi-final against South Africa. At the pre-match press conference ahead of the team’s knockout match against unbeaten South Africa, Santner revealed that the pacer flew home to New Zealand for the birth of his child and is returning to India on Tuesday, March 3.
Henry was in sensational contact with the ball at the tournament. In fact, he led New Zealand to a huge victory in their Super 8s game against Sri Lanka, taking two wickets in just three runs. Henry bowled just two overs, delivered 10 runs and dismantled the Lankan top order.
The fast bowler then played against England where he recorded figures of 1 for 19 in 2.3 overs.
Santner revealed on Tuesday that Henry’s participation in the semi-final would depend on how his body felt after the long flight from New Zealand.
“Matt’s up in the air at the moment, he’s landing tonight so we’ll see how he pulls up I guess – it’s obviously quite a long way from here, New Zealand. But he’ll obviously do a bit of a run in the morning, see if he’s ready to go. So yeah, hopefully he’s good,” Santner said.
New Zealand have played South Africa once in this tournament. In this match in Ahmedabad, Marco Jansen made his way into the top order for the Kiwis. After Jansen’s bowling performance, Proteas captain Aiden Markram played a sensational knock of 86 not out to lead South Africa to a strong victory.
The South Africa vs New Zealand semi-final will be played at the Eden Gardens. The match will start on March 4 at 7 PM IST.
While New Zealand play South Africa, hosts India take on England at the Wankhede Stadium in Navi Mumbai on March 5.
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Issued by:
Kingshuk Kusari
Published on:
March 3, 2026 8:28 PM IST
