New Zealand spinner Mitchell Santner expected to be fit before World Cup
Sep 14, 2023
London [UK], September 14 : New Zealand spinner Mitchell Santner is expected to be fit and available for the upcoming ICC Men's Cricket World Cup after scans cleared him of serious damage to his knee, as per ESPNcricinfo.
Santner injured his knee while fielding in the second match of the four-match series against England at the Ageas Bowl on Sunday. As a result, he was unable to play in the third ODI on Wednesday at The Oval.
"Mitch had a full scan on his knee, which he landed on when he took that catch in the last game at the Ageas Bowl," New Zealand's head coach Gary Stead said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
"It's come back positively, which is good for us. He's just got quite a bit of swelling around the knee still, which they think is a joint problem. It's nothing more than that," he added.
A record-breaking knock by Ben Stokes coupled with solid performances by bowlers guided an all-round England to a 181-run win over New Zealand in the third ODI of the four-match series at The Oval on Wednesday.
In the chase of 339, Kiwis were rocked by the pace trio of Chris Woakes, Reece Topley and Sam Curran and were struggling at 70/5. Glenn Phillips (72 in 76 balls, with five fours and two sixes) and Rachin Ravindra (28 in 22 balls, five fours) tried fighting back but NZ was bundled out for 187 in just 39 overs.
Stead said about Wednesday's match, "All seven games have been a bit like that, haven't they?" Stead said. "We were just saying, it would be nice to actually have a close one so we can see both teams under pressure."
"It was disappointing that we didn't put our best foot forward tonight but they played very well. Ben Stokes played an amazing innings.
"Both teams have taken the opportunity to change their line-ups a little bit. With such a congested period of games in a short period of time, we're certainly mindful of getting people to the World Cup without significant injury or risk."
"I think he's taken eight wickets in 17 overs," Stead said. "It's great to have Trent back: he brings a lot of energy and a lot of skill to the top of the order (sic) for us.
"In the two games he's played, he's showed his ability as a world-class player to topple England… [but] we haven't been able to capitalise on those starts."
