Tim Southee to Undergo Thumb Surgery, Question Looms Over World Cup Participation

New Zealand speedster Tim Southee will undergo surgery on his right thumb after sustaining a fracture in the fourth and final ODI against England last week. The development comes a couple of weeks before the Black Caps play their first game in the ICC World Cup 2023, against England in Ahmedabad.

As stated by New Zealand Cricket, the right-arm quick will go under the knife while the decision on his availability for the showpiece event in India will be taken once the results of the surgery are known. Southee dislocated and fractured his right thumb while taking a catch at slip to dismiss Joe Root at Lord’s.

“We’ve got our fingers crossed that the surgery goes well for Tim. He’ll have some pins or screws inserted in his right thumb and, providing the procedure is a success, it will be a matter of ensuring Tim can tolerate the pain and manage the actual wound when returning to train and play, said New Zealand head coach Gary Stead said.

“Our opening game of the World Cup against England is not until Thursday, October 5 in Ahmedabad, so that would be our logical target in terms of his availability.

“Tim’s obviously a hugely experienced and important figure in our team and we want to give him every chance to be part of this World Cup campaign,” he added.

Southee is currently the third-highest wicket-taker in ODIs for New Zealand with 214 wickets and also featured in the last three World Cups.

New Zealand off to Bangladesh

The Black Cap, who went down 1-3 in the ODIs against England, have flown to Bangladesh for a three-match ODI series, starting Thursday. They will take on Pakistan and South Africa in the World Cup warm-up matches on September 29 and October 2 respectively before playing the tournament opener against England on October 5.

September 28 – last date to finalise squads

Teams can make changes to the 15-player World Cup squad until September 28, post which any changes would need approval from the ICC.

New Zealand squad for ICC World Cup 2023

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.