New Zealand have been dealt an injury blow right at the start of their World Cup campaign with Tom Latham will miss the side’s two pre-tournament warm-up matches against India and West Indies.
Latham took a hit on his finger during New Zealand’s practice game against Australia in Brisbane last week and was immediately taken off the field to assess its condition. Scans have revealed a small fracture on his left middle-finger which will take some time to heal.
“Tom won’t be available for the first two warm-up games,” Williamson said at the captain’s press meet. “We are hoping he progresses nice and quickly and we will have to address it as the days go by.”
Black Caps bowling coach Shane Jurgensen though was hopeful that Latham will get fit in time by the time main draw gets underway.
“He’s going well, he’s improving all the time,” Jurgensen said. “He caught some tennis balls today, which is a really good start.
“Probably unlikely for the warm-up game, but he’s improving really well and each day. So we’ll take it as it comes and see how it develops over the next week or so.”
