Ahmedabad, India

The New Zealand World Cup squad got a much-needed impetus to their chances as injured fast bowler Tim Southee is getting back to building a bowling load ahead of the tournament opener against England on October 5. The bowler had fractured his right thumb during the ODI series against England in the build-up for the quadrennial event.

Advertisment

"It's still a bit tender where obviously there's a bit of scarring and a bit of numbness around where the plate is," Southee said after arrival in Ahmedabad ahead of New Zealand's game against England.

Also Watch: Pakistan fielders trolled by Indian cricketer for 'brainfade' moment in field

"So I guess it's just [about] getting used to that. And getting back into some bowling. Haven't done a lot of bowling over the last couple of weeks, so it's about getting your loads back up as well as managing the thumb."

Advertisment

The fast bowler acknowledged that the prospects of him bowling were not so high when he got injured but he has managed to recover a bit in time.

"It's been a crazy couple of weeks," Southee said. "A bit of a race against time to get here, but managed to get here and it's a great place to come. It's an awesome place to come and play cricket, let alone being a World Cup," he added.

Talking about the injury, Southee revealed that he hasn't suffered an injury like this before and that he hopes to be right in time with the recovery process.

Advertisment

"[The injury was] something new. Haven't done an injury like this before. I guess when something like that happens so close to a world event, your mind starts to drift towards that. With the limited time we had, I guess sitting down and working out the fastest recovery time, and the route back was to chuck some screws in it and a plate and hope for the best. Everyone I've dealt with and the process has been brilliant to get me to this stage. So fingers crossed we can carry on the recovery process and be right in time."

This would be Southee's fourth World Cup appearance, having already taken part in the 2011, 2015 and 2019 editions. The Black Caps were finalists in both the 2015 and 2019 editions while being the only non-Asian team in the 2011 semifinals.