'I Couldn't Walk Getting Out Of Bed'- Neil Wagner Reveals How He Battled Extreme Pain During His Marathon Effort In The 1st Test Against Pakistan

New Zealand pacer Neil Wagner battled through extreme pain in his pursuit to help his team get over the line despite having broken his toes in the recently concluded Test against Pakistan.

Wagner has revealed that he couldn’t even walk on the final morning of the Test match but said that such was his burning desire to help his side win the game aided him in transcending the pain barrier.

Neil Wagner played with broken toes on the last three days of the Test match after coping a blow while batting courtesy a searing yorker from Shaheen Shah Afridi during New Zealand’s first innings.

“On the last day, I couldn’t walk getting out of bed. I sort of fell to the ground quite frustrated and quite angry, and just wanted to get out there and play,” Neil Wagner told 1News.

“As I tried to walk, the pain got worse and worse, and I got the frozen vegetables out of the fridge and a couple of ice bags and tried to ice it a couple of times.” he added.

“I kept walking back to my mark saying to myself, ‘Just one wicket, just one wicket’- Neil Wagner

The pacer claimed two crucial wickets in Pakistan’s second innings including that of centurion Fawad Alam as the hosts prevailed with just 4.3 overs remaining in the match.

Wagner revealed that he took as many as 12 injections in the lead-up to the 5th day.

“About the 12th injection on the day, I started screaming and squealing a bit and biting on the towel,” he said. “The injections helped for about two hours then you got to try and bite your teeth, grit, and go through it.” Neil Wagner revealed.

“I kept walking back to my mark saying to myself, ‘Just one wicket, just one wicket.’ The desire to help the team is just there, you know, and it sort of gets you through it.” he added.

As a result, Neil Wagner has been sidelined for 6 weeks and has been replaced by Matt Henry for the 2nd and final Test against Pakistan.

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