After Kane Williamson, Tim Southee to miss ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 opener against England

Tim Southee suffered an injury during ODI series vs England, ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023.

The first game of the much-awaited ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 is all set to take place on Thursday when the defending champions England and last two editions' runner-up New Zealand will lock horns at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. This will be the high-voltage clash between two big teams in the competition that produced a nail-biting final last time.

England will have all the players ready and will field their full-strength team. Adding to that, the return of Ben Stokes has given the team a massive boost in the World Cup 2023. However, New Zealand are not that lucky. The Black Caps have suffered injuries to their key players and will be without them in the tournament's opener on October 5.

Tim Southee likely to miss the tournament's opener vs ENG in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023

Kane Williamson suffered an injury during the IPL 2023 and was out of action. Though he has returned and had some game time during the warmup matches, he will miss the game on Thursday. And now, the Black Caps have suffered another blow when veteran pacer Tim Southee, who is also recovering from injury, is likely to miss the clash against England. Southee took a blow during the ODI series against England last month.

Tim Southee underwent surgery and was good to go. However, he didn't take part in the warmup games, and now he is all set to miss the game on Thursday. The New Zealand head coach, Gary Stead, confirmed this news while speaking to 1news.co.nz. He said, "Tim arrived with the team a few days ago now. He had a very light bowl yesterday down at the ground. He's still just working through the wound on his thumb but things are looking good. I'm hoping in the next match that he'll be available for selection."

Southee is the fourth-highest wicket-taker in the World Cup for his country and the highest in international cricket. This will be a big blow for them. Though they have a great pace attack, led by Trent Boult, but experience gives them an edge in big matches. Meanwhile, in an interaction with ESPN Cricinfo, Tim Southee said it would be a race against the time to get fit and get ready for the big events.