New Zealand star batter Kane Williamson has been ruled out of New Zealand’s second match of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup against the Netherlands.
In the pre-match press conference, New Zealand head coach Gary Stead updated the status of Williamson’s injury.
“Kane’s been progressing very well; I think the fielding is still the element for him; he’s just got to get a little bit higher, and he gets a little bit more trust in his body,” New Zealand head coach Gary Stead said, as quoted by the ICC on Sunday.
“But he’s progressing really well, and we are pretty confident that he will be playing the third match for us. We’ve got another training to get through today, so we’ll finalise the team (for the match against the Netherlands) once we’ve got through that training. But at this stage with Kane, we are looking like the third game is when he will start the tournament,” Gary Stead added. Williamson had missed the opening game of the World Cup as he had not fully recovered from his knee injury sustained during the Indian Premier League (IPL) back in March.
New Zealand will face the Netherlands on Monday, while Williamson could return to the side in the third match against Bangladesh on October 13.
Stead also shared an update on the fitness of Lockie Ferguson and Tim Southee.
“Lockie Ferguson got through that training really well. So, provided he’s scrubbed up OK this morning, he will be available for this next game,” Stead said.
“Tim Southee also got through the training really well. It was great to see him back at the bowling crease and also doing a little bit of fielding. He will just get a final x-ray done this morning, and then we will make a call after that, but it’s all looking good for selection from now on and into the rest of the tournament,” he signed off.
