Fast bowler Tim Southee will have to undergo surgery on his injured thumb: NZC

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Christchurch. Veteran fast bowler Tim Southee’s thumb was fractured in the fourth and final ODI against England on Thursday, which will undergo surgery. New Zealand Cricket Board (NZC) gave this information on Wednesday.

The veteran fast bowler broke his right thumb and dislocated it while attempting to take a catch during the fourth ODI against England last Friday.

A decision on the senior fast bowler’s availability for the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup in India will be taken early next week after the results of the surgery are known.

Head coach Gary Stead is hopeful that Saudi will recover in time and be available for the tournament.

“We are keeping our fingers crossed that the surgery is going well for Tim. He will have some pins or screws inserted into his right thumb and, provided the procedure is successful, it will be a matter of making sure Tim can tolerate the pain and continue training. And manage the actual wound when returning to play.

“Our first World Cup match against England is not until Thursday 5 October in Ahmedabad, so that would be our logical target in terms of his availability. Tim is obviously a hugely experienced and important person in our squad and we look forward to giving him everything we can.” Want to contribute so that he can be a part of this World Cup campaign.”

After losing to England 3-1 in the four-match ODI series, New Zealand will now play three ODIs in Bangladesh from September 21. New Zealand will play the first World Cup warm-up match against Pakistan in Hyderabad on Friday, September 29, followed by the ODI match on Monday, October 2. The next practice match will be with South Africa in Trivandrum.

New Zealand’s World Cup players, who are not going on the current tour of Bangladesh, will leave for India from next Tuesday.

New Zealand will begin their campaign against defending champions England on October 5 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad in a repeat of the 2019 final. (IANS)

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