New Zealand captain Kane Williamson sustained a fracture to his left thumb on Friday in his comeback match against Bangladesh in the ICC Men’s ODI Cricket World Cup at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. He was hit by a throw as he was making his ground to complete a run while chasing in the match.
According to New Zealand Cricket (NZC), Williamson will likely be back by the business end of the tournament. Wicketkeeper-batter Tom Blundell has been called to India as a replacement; however, he will not be a part of the official squad at the moment.
New Zealand head coach Gary Stead said, “Firstly, we’re all feeling for Kane to have this occur after all his hard work to return from his knee injury.” Stead added, “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,” Stead further said.
A bandage was wrapped around Williamson’s thumb and wrist after he got hit in the 37th over. However, he did not stay for long in the middle as he walked towards the dressing room after playing two balls. It will be a hard pill for Williamson to swallow as he played his first competitive game in nearly seven months after suffering a knee injury while fielding for the Gujarat Titans in the IPL.
Stead also pointed out Blundell's ability to play at different positions in the batting order, along with his wicket-keeping skills, which will be a bonus as a backup.
New Zealand will play their next match against Afghanistan on October 18 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai after having won all three matches that they have played.
