Who is Jacob Duffy? New Zealand pacer replacing Ben Sears in Champions Trophy squad

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New Zealand, who are placed in Group A of ICC Champions Trophy 2025, have found themselves in trouble after their pacer Ben Sears picked up an injury during the training session in Karachi on February 12. The injury has resulted in Sears’ removal from New Zealand’s Champions Trophy 2025 squad. This comes with the Kiwi side still unsure about the participations of their opener Rachin Ravindra and pacer Lockie Ferguson due to their respective injuries.

However, noting heavyweights such as Pakistan and India in their group, New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner will expect both Ravindra and Ferguson to gain their fitness completely. With Sears' injury, New Zealand has been replaced by the right-arm pacer Jacob Duffy, who has represented the Kiwi side in 28 international games.

Back in 2020, the speedster made his debut against Pakistan in a T20I match played in Auckland. With his maiden appearance, he also became the first Southlander to make his international debut for New Zealand, after Jeff Wilson in 1993. His ODI debut came in July 2022 against Ireland in Dublin. In his five-year international career, the 30-year-old has picked up 37 wickets in 28 international games across both formats of white-ball cricket. He has added 18 wickets to his ODI profile after appearing in 10 games. The Kiwi quick recorded his best ODI figures of 3/41 against Sri Lanka in 2024.

Jacob Duffy: Age, Career, Debuts, and More

Duffy holds an amazing record in domestic cricket. The Southland-born player has been serving Otago since January 2012, and in his vast domestic career, he has bagged more than 570 wickets in 319 games played across all formats. In first-class cricket, he has grabbed 299 wickets in 174 innings of 103 matches while in List A, he has bagged 161 wickets in 95 outings. He has also taken 126 wickets in 121 T20 matches.