Injury Scare For New Zealand Ahead of World Cup as BIG Names Injured: Tim Southee, a fast bowler for New Zealand, could miss out on the World Cup after hurting his right thumb while fielding in the fourth and last ODI against England on Friday.
Just a couple of weeks until the 2023 ICC Men’s World Cup begins, New Zealand suffered a lot of injuries on Friday at Lord’s. As many as three New Zealand players had to leave the field during this game owing to injury. This is not good news for the Blackcaps when the World Cup is just around the corner.
Injury Scare For New Zealand
Dayrl Mitchell got injured in the slip cordon and soon star opener Finn Alen also got his finger injured and walked off the ground. Minutes later, Tim Southee also sustained an injury on his right thumb while attempting to take a catch in the 14th over of the 1st innings.
He was instantly booked for scans and the scan reports are now out. New Zealand Cricket Board officials confirmed that he has suffered dislocation and fracture in his right thumb. They posted an update on X regarding the news.
NZC wrote, “An x-ray has confirmed that Tim Southee dislocated and fractured a bone in his right thumb while attempting to take a catch in the 14th over of the 1st innings.”
They further added, “A timeline for his recovery will be established tomorrow when he undergoes further assessment.“
Finn Alen also got his hand scanned and thankfully he does not have any such injury. Writing about Finn Alen, they quoted, “Finn Allen has been cleared of any fracture or break after injuring the little finger on his right-hand while on as a substitute fielder.“
Daryl Mitchell appeared fine but had bandages on the injured finger. He also came to bat and he was spotted struggling with his injury.
In the series, New Zealand is down 2-1 against England. The team’s upcoming three-match ODI series is against Bangladesh, for which Southee is rested. New Zealand’s first match at the 50-over World Cup in India will be against reigning champion England after this series against Bangladesh.
Two out of those three injured players are also named in the World Cup squad. These additional injuries have put New Zealand into more trouble as Kane Williamson, the skipper of NZ is yet to make a competitive cricket comeback after a long injury gap.
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For more details head to ICC’s official website
