After captain Kane Williamson, New Zealand fast bowler Tim Southee has been declared unavailable for the World Cup opener against England, set to take place on October 5. Southee suffered a dislocated and fractured thumb while attempting to catch the ball during a match against England last month, and he subsequently underwent surgery. He did not participate in New Zealand’s initial warm-up game against Pakistan on September 29.
Tim Southee stands as New Zealand’s third-leading wicket-taker in ODIs, having claimed 214 wickets at an average of 33.60. He boasts participation in three prior World Cups. New Zealand’s squad selected him as one of the four designated fast bowlers, alongside Trent Boult, Matt Henry, and Lockie Ferguson. Tim Southee’s injury setback is likely to grant England a notable advantage in the World Cup opener.
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New Zealand is currently dealing with injury concerns, particularly with Kane Williamson, who is in the process of recovering from a ruptured ACL that occurred during last season’s IPL. Even though the New Zealand World Cup squad has included him, he won’t feature in the team’s opening match against England. In the team’s first warm-up encounter against Pakistan, Williamson did play but exclusively as a batsman, managing to score 54 runs off 50 balls before declaring his innings.
New Zealand arrived in India after securing a 2-1 series victory over Bangladesh at their stronghold in Mirpur. They expect the conditions they faced in Bangladesh to be somewhat similar to what they will encounter in the World Cup. However, a significant challenge lies in the fact that the squad that triumphed against Bangladesh is substantially different from the one that will face England on October 5th.
The limited availability of their top players has undoubtedly played a role in New Zealand’s performance, as they managed to win only eight out of 20 ODIs in 2023. Notably, their two most prominent talents, Kane Williamson and Trent Boult, participated in less than half of those matches.
New Zealand World Cup Squad: Kane Williamson (c), Tom Latham (vc & wk), Devon Conway (wk), Glenn Phillips (wk), Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Mitchell Santner, Jimmy Neesham, Daryl Mitchell, Will Young, Mark Chapman, Rachin Ravindra, Lockie Ferguson, Ish Sodhi, Matt Henry.
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