Kane Williamson to miss next few WC matches

Kane Williamson will not feature in a few ODI World Cup games for New Zealand. The New Zealand captain will miss the games following ‘an undisplaced fracture’ to his left thumb.

What happened?

Kane Williamson, the New Zealand captain returned after recovering from ACL injury in the match against Bangladesh on October 13. During the World Cup match in Chennai on Friday, Williamson was struck by a throw while running between the wickets. An x-ray after that confirmed ‘an undisplaced fracture’ to his left thumb. As a result, he will remain in the World Cup squad for the side but is expected to miss a few New Zealand matches in the tournament in the coming days. Tom Blundell has been called in as cover. He will travel to India soon but hasn’t officially been named part of the squad. Henry Nicholls wasn’t available for consideration after sustaining a mild side strain during a Plunket Shield warm-up match earlier in the week.

Williamson to be available later

Coach Gary Stead said the team’s hopeful of getting Williamson back in action later in the tournament. “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 that 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.”

He further added, “Tom’s been with the one-day side on tours to Pakistan and Bangladesh and performed well. He covers multiple positions in the batting order and his wicket-keeping skills are also an added bonus as a back-up.”

New Zealand are currently leading the points table with three consecutive wins in the tournament.