New Zealand batter Lauren Down has been ruled out of the upcoming Women’s 50-over World Cup due to a thumb fracture. The 18-year old Georgia Plimmer has been named as her replacement in the squad. Plimmer hasn’t made her international debut yet.
Down injured her thumb during the 5th match of the series against India as she was attempting a Shafali Verma’s catch.
Lauren Down was named Player of the Match in 3rd match against India last week
“Quite simply, the entire squad is absolutely gutted for Lauren. She’s a very popular member of the group and it’s fair to say the team were quite emotional when we got the news she was out of the tournament,” Head coach Bob Carter said on Friday.
“You saw the impact Lauren had in the recent series against India; she played some really mature innings’ in the middle order and her fielding was at an exceptional standard. We wish her all the best with her recovery and know she’ll be supporting us throughout the tournament,” he added.
Right-arm medium pacer Molly Penfold will also join the squad as a reserve player.
Lauren Down was in good touch in the series against India as she was named Player of the Match in the 3rd match for her match-winning knock of 64*(52) in the chase.
The New Zealand team would be high in confidence after beating India by 4-1 in the 5-match series. They are scheduled to play 2 warm-up matches on February 27 and March 1. In the tournament opener, they will face West Indies on March 4 at Mount Maunganui then they will play against Bangladesh at Dunedin on March 7.
They will face India on March 10 at Hamilton and take on neighbors Australia on March 13 at Wellington.
New Zealand won the 50-over World Cup only once when they beat Australia by 4 runs in the final of the 2000 edition. In the previous edition of the ODI World Cup in 2017, they missed qualifying for the semifinal. Though this time on their familiar conditions, they are expected to make it to the last four.
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