Ahead of the upcoming ICC World Cup 2023 opening match between England and New Zealand, both teams are sweating on the fitness of their key players. The two sides will clash on October 5 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
New Zealand are set to miss out on the services of Kane Williamson and Tim Southee, their two most experienced players. Stand-in skipper Tom Latham has revealed that Williamson is still nursing his right knee, despite batting in both the warm-up games. He will rest for the England match, but Kiwis hope that he will be fit in time for the rest of the tournament.
On the other hand, Tim Southee is still recovering from a fractured thumb on the right hand, an injury he suffered in an ODI against England. He underwent surgery for the same, and there is no word when he will be fit.
“Yeah, so obviously no Kane and no Tim as well. He’s [Southee] unavailable for selection just in terms of what happened to his thumb a couple of weeks ago, but he’s recovering nicely. I think he’s nearly two weeks post-surgery so fingers crossed he can keep recovering. It’s a bit of a day-by-day process with him in terms of what that looks like too. But fingers crossed he’ll be available sooner rather than later as well,” Latham said at the press conference, quoted by Indian Express.
Williamson had to undergo surgery on his right knee after rupturing his ACL during the IPL 2023 opening match in Ahmedabad. Though he did well in the two warm-up games, he was ruled out of the first game against England, even before the tournament had begun.
“You know he’s been batting beautifully, which is great to see and he was out in the field a couple of days ago, so he’s progressing nicely and fingers crossed he’s on the park sooner rather than later. I guess any team that doesn’t have Kane in it is, you know, we’d certainly be better off having him but I think from our point of view for him to be here, to be at the World Cup is a testament to – I think the work that he’s put on over the last four to five months to be where he is and I think it’s nearly six months post-surgery and for him to be given a shot, to be given a chance to play in the World Cup at some point is a testament to the work that he’s put in,” Latham said.
On the other hand, England captain Jos Buttler revealed that all-rounder Ben Stokes had suffered a hip niggle and his participation in the CWC 2023 opener against New Zealand was still to be determined.
Stokes had un-retired from ODIs for this World Cup and is set to play as a pure batter for England, to manage his troublesome knee. He did not feature in England's warm-up game against Bangladesh in Guwahati on Monday due to a hip complaint.
Ahead of their final training session before Thursday's curtain-raiser against New Zealand, England's captain Jos Buttler said that they would not "take big risks" with players' fitness early in the tournament.
"He's got a slight niggle with his hip. But fingers crossed that it'll be good news for us. We'll see. He's working hard with the physios, and we'll know more when the guys arrive for training today. We'll make the right call. If he's not fit to play, he's not fit to play. If he is, we can make that decision. It's not the time to take big risks on someone at the start of the tournament. Nearer the end, maybe you do take more of a risk with people's injuries, but it's going to be a long tournament,” Buttler was quoted by ESPNCricinfo.
The New Zealand vs. England encounter of the ICC World Cup 2023 will begin at 2 PM IST in Ahmedabad.
