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Kane Williamson ruled out until 'back end' of World Cup 2023 group stage with thumb fracture; NZ name Blundell as cover
Kane Williamson faced a thumb injury during New Zealand's group game against Bangladesh in the 2023 World Cup.
New Zealand's captain Kane Williamson's tryst with injuries sees no end, it seems. Nine months after his return to professional cricket, Williamson has found himself on the wrong end of the injury spectrum yet again. During New Zealand's match against Bangladesh in the World Cup, he was forced to retire hurt after hurting his glove and on Saturday, it was confirmed that Williiamson suffered an undisplaced fracture to his left thumb.
Despite the setback, Williamson remains determined to contribute to his team's campaign in the World Cup and has chosen to stay with the squad. His aim is to recover and make himself available for the latter stages of the pool play next month. To cover for Williamson's potential absence, Tom Blundell has been named as his replacement and will travel to India with the squad.
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“An X-ray has confirmed an undisplaced fracture to Kane Williamson’s left thumb. He will remain in the @cricketworldcup squad with the aim of being available for the back end of pool play next month. Tom Blundell will travel to India as cover,” the official X account of New Zealand confirmed.
Williamson had earlier made himself available as a batter during the warm-up matches for the World Cup and also scored a half-century against Pakistan in the first practice match. On his return to international cricket earlier this week, the Kiwi captain was batting on an impressive 78 before injuring his thumb.
“Firstly, we’re all feeling for Kane to have this occur after all his hard work to return from his knee injury,” Stead said.
“While it’s disappointing news, the initial diagnosis has given us some optimism he can still feature later in the pool play following a period of rest and rehabilitation.
“Kane is clearly a massive part of our side and a world class player and captain - so we’ll look to give him every opportunity we can to return in the tournament.”
