White Ferns batter Lauren Down has been ruled out of the World Cup after an injury to her thumb.
Down injured her thumb while taking a catch to dismiss Shafali Verma in the final ODI against India. Down dived forward to take an excellent catch at the point but was seen in pain during the game. She was immediately replaced by Jessie Kerr in the fielding.
She was taken to scans immediately and the result didn’t turn up good as it revealed a fracture to the thumb.
She will return home and await medical advice for further treatment.
“Quite simply, the entire squad is absolutely gutted for Lauren.” White Ferns coach Bob Carter said.
“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,” he added.
Down has been replaced by Wellington batter Georgia Plimmer. The 17-year-old made heads turn with her performances for Tawa College where her fielding and attacking batting stood out.
This year, she opened the innings for Blaze in all the matches in the absence of Devine.
The pacer Molly Penfold, who was a part of New Zealand squad and had represented the team in one ODI, has been added as the travelling reserve.
New Zealand will take on Pakistan in their first warm-up match on Sunday.
