Conway to miss T20 World Cup final after punching bat

New Zealand’s Devon Conway is out of the T20 World Cup final this weekend after breaking his right hand during their semi-final victory against England.

The 30-year-old left-hander injured himself when he struck his bat immediately after being stumped off Liam Livingstone for 46 in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.

New Zealand went on to triumph by five wickets, but an X-ray has now confirmed the fracture, ruling Conway out of Sunday’s final against Australia, live on Sky Sports Cricket.

“He’s absolutely gutted to be ruled out like this at this time,” said New Zealand coach Gary Stead.

“Devon is hugely passionate about playing for the Black Caps and no one is more disappointed at the moment than he is – so we’re really trying to rally around him.

“It looked a pretty innocuous reactionary incident on the field, but the blow obviously caught the bat between the glove padding.

“While it’s not the smartest thing he’s done, there’s certainly an element of bad luck in the injury. Devon is a great team man and a very popular member of the side so we’re all feeling for him.

“He’s determined to support the team in any way he can for the remainder of the tour before he returns home to recover.”

Conway’s injury – which also rules him out of New Zealand’s T20I series in India, starting next week – will force the Black Caps to reshuffle their side to take on Australia in Dubai.

In addition to his top-four batting role, Conway has also kept wicket for all but one of his side’s matches in the tournament so far.

However, Stead confirmed they will not bring in a replacement for Conway, either for Sunday’s final or the India series.

Watch live coverage of the ICC T20 World Cup final live on Sky Sports Cricket from 1pm on Sunday.