Tim Southee’s availability for the upcoming World Cup in India has been left in doubt after the New Zealand pacer broke a bone in his right thumb while fielding in the fourth One-Day International against England at Lord’s on Friday.
Southee hurt himself while attempting to take a catch of Joe Root in the 14th over of the England innings. He was taken off the field and substituted by Trent Boult. He did not return to bat later in the day.
“A timeline for his recovery will be established tomorrow when he undergoes further assessment,” New Zealand Cricket stated.
Tom Latham, New Zealand’s stand-in captain for the series, added, “It’s not ideal for Timmy. 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 lost the fourth ODI by 100 runs and have conceded the five-match series 3-1 to the hosts already. Southee is one of the four frontline pacers selected in New Zealand’s squad for the upcoming World Cup, alongside Trent Boult, Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson.
New Zealand’s World Cup campaign begins on October 5 against the defending champions England in Ahmedabad.