Todd Astle has yet to sufficiently recover from a side strain

Image courtesy of: Zimbio

New Zealand spinner Todd Astle will miss the second Test against England in Christchurch as he has failed to recover from a side strain.

Astle sustained the injury during the day-night Test in Auckland, which New Zealand won by an innings and 49 runs.

With Astle out of action, New Zealand have called up Ish Sodhi as his replacement. However, Sodhi has not played Test cricket since September 2016.

“Through some incredibly hard work, Todd’s already overcome some injuries this summer,” New Zealand head coach Mike Hesson was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz. “Todd played a major role in helping us win the game at Eden Park, so it’s disappointing for Todd and the team that he’s forced to the sideline ahead of Friday.”

New Zealand will look to wrap up a 2-0 series win in the second Test, which gets underway on Friday.