In a setback for New Zealand, experienced seamer Tim Southee's World Cup campaign is now in doubt after he fractured a bone in his right thumb during the final ODI against England on Friday.
"An X-ray has confirmed that Tim Southee dislocated and fractured a bone in his right thumb while attempting to take a catch in the 14th over of the 1st innings," New Zealand Cricket (NZC) said in a statement. "A timeline for his recovery will be established tomorrow when he undergoes further assessment," the statement added.
34-year-old Tim Southee, who has played 157 ODIs for the BlackCaps to date, hurt himself while trying to catch a ball hit by Joe Root at the Lord's on Friday. Southee missed the opportunity at slip, and was forced to leave the field immediately in pain. He was taken for a scan right away, the AFP reported. He didn't return to finish the game that the Kiwis lost by 100 runs.
"Southee's in good spirits. He'll be assessed further to see how he is. Fingers crossed," reports quoted New Zealand captain Tom Latham as saying after the match.
New Zealand will once again face England, the defending champions, in their campaign opener game at the 50-overs World Cup in India.
New Zealand vs England final ODI: As it happened
Opener Dawid Malan hit a superb century before Moeen Ali grabbed four wickets as England ensured a 3-1 series victory. Malan made a 114-ball 127 with 14 fours and three sixes to lay the platform for a strong 311-9 in 50 overs after Jos Buttler won the toss and opted to bat at Lord's.
Needing a win to avoid defeat in the ODI series, New Zealand got off to a poor start as they lost opener Devon Conway cheaply following an excellent run out by Buttler. Henry Nicholls (41) gave the visitors a glimmer of hope but incisive bowling by Moeen snuffed out the threat, though the spinner denied a hat-trick on his way to figures of 4-50. All-rounder Rachin Ravindra led the scoring for New Zealand as he valiantly battled on until the end, hitting 61 off 48 balls, but his resistance was ended by Sam Curran's excellent yorker. Southee's injury meant that New Zealand were one batsman short when their innings came to an end on 211 in the 39th over.
