Heartbreak for Black Caps... Fracture confirmed for Kane Williamson

By Luke Kirkness

Black Caps captain Kane Williamson has a fracture in his left thumb after he was struck by a throw while running between the wickets against Bangladesh in Chennai.

Williamson experienced a conflicting return this morning after more than six months on the sidelines, hitting a half-century to help the Black Caps earn an eight-wicket win over Bangladesh before retiring hurt late in the contest.

It wasn’t his surgically repaired right knee that forced Williamson from the field in Chennai but a painful blow to the left thumb from an errant throw, ending his innings on 78.

The 33-year-old continued to bat for a few overs after receiving initial treatment, but with the Black Caps comfortably on track to overhaul Bangladesh’s 245-9, he eventually succumbed to await the results of an X-ray on the damaged digit.

An x-ray confirmed an undisplaced fracture but Williamson will remain in the Black Caps Cricket World Cup squad with the aim of being available for the back end of pool play next month.

Wellington Firebirds batsman Tom Blundell will travel to India as cover but will not officially be part of the squad, while Williamson rehabilitates the injury.

Black Caps coach Gary Stead was hopeful Williamson would still be able to play a part 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. 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 said Blundell’s versatility saw him selected to join as cover, while Henry Nicholls wasn’t considered after suffering a mild side strain during Canterbury’s Plunket Shield warm-up match against Otago during the week.

“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.”

The new injury clouded what had been an encouraging comeback appearance. Williamson stroked eight boundaries and a six during his 107-ball stay, combining with Daryl Mitchell (89no off 67) in an unbroken match-winning stand of 108.

He appeared occasionally unsteady when turning for a second run but lacked nothing in timing with the bat, accumulating easily all around the ground

Williamson earlier fielded for 50 overs without incident in his first official match since rupturing his ACL, as Lockie Ferguson (3-49) led a pace attack that effectively utilised bounce to set up a third straight victory.

After facing Afghanistan on Wednesday, the Black Caps enter the segment of the schedule that will determine their semifinal fate, starting with a showdown against hosts India next Saturday.

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission