Southee fractures thumb ahead of next month's WC
Tim Southee
|| CF DESK ||
New Zealand great Southee bows out after 'incredible journey'
17 Dec 24
With less than a month until the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup in 2023, New Zealand faced significant injury concerns on Friday at Lord's against Australia in their ongoing ODI series.
Daryl Mitchell limped off the ground with a ring finger injury after taking a screamer in the slip cordon to send back Jonny Bairstow. While he had thankfully returned to the field, the Blackcaps had other concerns.
They soon lost opener Finn Allen and veteran pacer Tim Southee also to injuries, the latter's more worrying of the two.
Allen failed to hang on to a difficult chance off Joe Root in the 12th over, and while making the one-handed attempt hurt his finger, forcing him off the field.
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Two overs later, off Ben Lister, Root was put down again, this time by Southee, who dove across with both hands but saw the ball hit his thumb and deflect to third man.
New Zealand have issued an update on Southee, stating that the pacer's x-ray confirmed a dislocation and fractured bone in his right thumb. A timeline for his recovery will only be established after further assessments. Allen, however, was cleared of any fracture.
New Zealand were handed another blow when Ben Lister also walked off with a hamstring issue after bowling six overs.
Two of the three players have been selected to New Zealand's World Cup team, while Allen has been left out.
The Kiwis are already worried about Kane Williamson's return from a long break, and while he has been nominated to the World Cup squad, the batsman has yet to play competitive cricket.
