Follow UsJust 20 days before the ODI World Cup, New Zealand have been dealt with a piece of bad news that could sting their World Cup chances. New Zealand’s premier pace bowler Tim Southee has dislocated and fractured a bone in his right thumb during the fourth ODI against England at Lord’s.
Southee, who was fielding at a wide slip position, dropped a catch off Ben Lister’s bowling, which could have seen the end of Joe Root. Immediately after, the all-rounder walked back to the dressing room, signalling that he wasn’t in any shape to take the field during the remainder of the clash.
The all-rounder did not play any further part in the remainder of the clash, only to be substituted by Trent Boult. New Zealand’s skipper Tom Latham insisted that Southee will be ‘assessed’ over the next few days ahead of the World Cup.
"It's not ideal for Timmy," Tom Latham, New Zealand's captain, said. "He's a massive leader amongst the group and obviously he'll be assessed over the coming days when we get back home to see how bad it is, but we do have a bit of time leading into those first couple of games, so we'll know more over the next couple of days.
"He's a pretty resilient character, so I'm sure he'll be doing all he can to be on the plane, ready for that first game. But it's hard to know at this point what the timeframe will be. Once he gets home and has a few more scans, we'll know the extent of what's going on."
New Zealand suffered more injuries in the clash when Daryl Mitchell, Finn Allen and Ben Lister all walked off with injuries, with only Mitchell going on to make a return.