Cricket: Mills heads home, Franklin called in for one-dayers

1.00pm

NOTTINGHAM - Kyle Mills has become the second casualty of New Zealand's injury-hit cricket tour and will head home later this week with a side strain.

New Zealand manager Lindsay Crocker today confirmed Mills would depart before the one-day series, having sustained the injury in his rib muscles after bowling just six overs in his test debut against England here.

He didn't bowl again in the third test and batted today in obvious pain, with the injury requiring between two to four weeks recovery time.

Mills' misfortune is James Franklin's lucky break, with Crocker confirming Franklin would join the one-day squad after an impressive comeback to test cricket here with figures of six for 163.

He will be the second injury replacement after Ian Butler arrived at the weekend to replace Shane Bond who returned home with continuing back problems.

Spinner Daniel Vettori and opener Michael Papps will remain with the squad despite missing the third test through injury.

Vettori was making good progress in his recovery from a hamstring strain, while Papps was still nursing a broken left little finger.

New Zealand's tour is starting to rival the African tour in 2000 for injury calamity, when Matt Horne, Dion Nash, Daniel Vettori, Chris Cairns and Andrew Penn all had to return home.

New Zealand had to call on four substitute fielders here, with Butler, Mathew Sinclair, Daryl Tuffey and Hamish Marshall all required.

Cairns admitted it was one of the worst tolls he'd seen in 15 years with the side.

"It's been a nightmare with the injuries. I can't explain it, we had a pretty good summer back home but to have this many is just crazy," Cairns said.

New Zealand's first match of the one-day tri-series is against England in Manchester on June 24.

- NZPA