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NZ Captain Tom Latham Provides Update On Southee Injury Ahead Of World Cup 2023

image-lmlon8asTim Southee has less than a month to recover for World Cup 2023 (Twitter)

Tim Southee fractured a bone on his right thumb while dropping a Joe Root catch during New Zealand’s series-deciding final ODI match against England at Lord’s. The speedster was escorted off the ground by New Zealand’s medical team after the conclusion of the 14th over of the English innings.

Southee, one of the senior members of the side, is also slated to turn up for his country in next month’s World Cup 2023 in India. While his injury might well make him a doubtful starter for the tournament, his captain Tom Latham recently gave his perspective over the concerning matter.

Tom Latham admits hard to estimate injury’s timeframe

New Zealand captain Tom Latham claimed that while the current scenario is not looking ideal for Tim Southee, the speedster might well attain full recovery in time for their initial World Cup 2023 matches in India. He further stated that Southee is due for more scans upon returning back home before his availability is confirmed for the quadrennial event.

After falling 100 runs short of hosts England, the ‘Black Caps’ skipper said:

“It’s not ideal for Tim Southee. 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.”

Prior to this injury, Tim Southee had sent down four expensive and wicketless powerplay overs in the English innings. Dawid Malan paved way for the hosts to set up another 300-up total, mounting 311-9 from their 50 overs.

As one can expect, Southee did not come out to bat and New Zealand ended up falling 100 runs short of their task to concede the series 1-3 to the hosts.

The pace maverick has approximately three weeks for attaining full recovery before his team takes on England again, albeit in the opening match of the 2023 World Cup. The much-awaited contest is slated to be played at the iconic Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on October 5.