Colin de Grandhomme hopeful of being fit for tour of England, New Zealand players receive Covid-19 vaccine

The allrounder underwent ankle surgery in March and having been included in the Test squad is confident of being fully available

English cricket summer could be affected by India's move to UK government 'red list'

International tour matches pulled as English summer is reduced

Allrounder Colin de Grandhomme is expecting to be fully available for New Zealand's tour of England in June.

The 34-year-old underwent ankle surgery in March after missing the entire international season.

Indeed, de Grandhomme's outings were limited to appearances for Northern Districts, playing mostly as a batter.

He faced eight weeks of recovery after going under the knife at the start of last month and with his rehabilitation going well he is hopeful of being fit for the trip.

"Since I've had the surgery the ankle has felt really good and it seems to keep getting better and it feels normal again for a change," he said. 

"Looks like I'm tracking well at the moment and should be ready to go for ball one if I'm needed."

The tour sees the Kiwis face England in two Tests at Lord's and Edgbaston from June 2 and 10, before taking on India in the World Test Championship final.

First @covid19nz vaccine jab for @NeilWagner13 in Tauranga today. He’s the last of our New Zealand based players to receive the first of two doses ahead of departure to England in May. pic.twitter.com/7nxUdEkvFs

— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) April 20, 2021

Players will arrive in the UK having had their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.

Placed on a priority list of "national significance" alongside New Zealand's Olympic athletes, the squad were granted early access to jabs.

The roll-out, which began on March 31, does not include IPL players Kane Williamson, Mitchell Santer, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult or Kyle Jamieson, as well as Will Young who is at Durham.

Head coach Gary Stead confirmed a 20-strong group for the tour but may have to add to that group after India were added to the United Kingdom's travel 'red-list' following a rise in cases of coronavirus.

While international sportspeople are still permitted to travel, 10 days of strict quarantine must be undertaken upon arrival to the UK - which would delay the availability of those flying in from the IPL, which reaches a climax on May 30.

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