New Zealand's designated skipper Kane Williamson has been ruled out of the upcoming marquee World Cup clash versus South Africa slated to be played at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on Wednesday, November 1. The right-handed batter is undergoing rehab after he sustained a nasty injury to his left thumb in the 11th match of the ongoing tournament against Bangladesh in Chennai.
The Blackcaps took to the social media platform 'X' to inform about the latest development. "Kane Williamson has been ruled out of Wednesday’s match against @ProteasMenCSA. Williamson has batted in the nets the last two days but has been ruled out of a return to match action tomorrow. He will be assessed again ahead of the side’s next match against @TheRealPCB. #CWC23," Blackcaps posted.
Williamson was struck by a throw while running between the wickets in the game against the Bangla Tigers. After receiving initial treatment, Williamson continued to bat for a brief period of time before finally deciding to retire hurt as the Kiwis were firmly placed in the run chase. Since then the New Zealand side has played three games against Afghanistan, India and Australia respectively and the 33-year-old has been sitting on the sidelines.
The Tauranga-born scored 78* runs against the Shakib Al Hasan-led side and looked in complete control throughout the course of his knock. However, Tom Latham, who is the stand-in-skipper and is leading the side at the moment, has done exceedingly well as captain. New Zealand have only lost two games in the tournament so far and won four. They are occupying the third spot on the points table with a net run rate (NRR) of 1.232.
South Africa, on the other hand, have won five out of their six matches and are placed second on the points table with the best net run rate (2.032) in the competition.
