After Captains Day, which was held yesterday, the stage is all set up for the biggest cricket tournament, i.e., the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, commencing today. The opening match will see defending champions England and New Zealand locking horns with each other at the world’s largest stadium, Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
This World Cup tournament will see some of the most exceptional players missing out on some games either due to an injury or the management’s resolve to give a chance to other young players. The injuries sustained by cricketers always put them against a backdrop while they take time to recover in order to play competitive cricket.
Southee missing out on the World Cup opener
New Zealand’s stand-in captain Tom Latham confirmed on Wednesday that Tim Southee will be not able to mark his presence in the opening match against England. The New Zealand pacer’s thumb recovery is still due which he sustained in the series against England last month while trying to catch the ball. Latham said that Tim is already making good progress after undergoing surgery to treat his fractured thumb.
The stand-in skipper said “Obviously no Kane no Time as well. He’s unavailable for selection just in terms of what happened to his thumb a couple of weeks ago, but he’s recovering nicely.” Southee played a crucial role in the 2019 World Cup final against England. His presence at the 2023 World Cup is very much requested by fans as he can prove to be a threat to some of the finest batsmen.
Paired up with Kane Williamson’s absence
Along with Tim Southee, New Zealand’s regular captain Kane Williamson will also miss out on their first match as the latter is recovering from a knee injury. Kane underwent a surgery in April and is yet to recover fully for the big game.
New Zealand has been in the semi-finals eight times but they failed to secure a victory. It will be interesting to see if they can win the World Cup title this year against many odds including India and England being favourites to win the Cup this year.
Stay updated with all the cricketing action, follow Cricadium on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
