Kiwis deny claims against Southee

Auckland: New Zealand Cricket have denied local media reports that pace bowler Tim Southee was involved in an incident on a flight to Dubai as the team were en route to the World Cup.

Local media reported that a passenger on the flight had alerted team management about an incident between a player and a female passenger.

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However, team manager Dave Currie said after conducting an investigation he had determined the player, who he identified as Southee, had not been involved in anything inappropriate.

"Tim met a female passenger on board the plane and spent some time with her, however we are confident that nothing inappropriate happened between them," Currie said in a NZC statement.

"I've spoken to Tim directly as well as team management. Tim has described a detailed version of events and has provided a written statement in relation to this.

"I also spoke with several individuals and held a team meeting. Everyone is adamant that nothing untoward occurred on the flight and are surprised about the reports."

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NZC said they now considered the matter closed unless more information came to light.

The team had left Dubai and were on their way to India to finalise their preparations ahead of the Feb. 19-April 2 tournament.