New Zealand coach Gary Stead expressed optimism on captain Kane Williamson's recovery and explained that the batter was now only facing throwdowns in the nets and that they were being cautious about his progression.
During the T20I and ODI tour of England, Williamson will continue his recovery from knee surgery with the New Zealand team in the hope that he will be ready to be selected for the World Cup in less than a month. The New Zealand batter has tackled a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee and is back hitting balls in the nets. (Happy Birthday Kane Williamson: Net Worth, Wife, IPL Salary And All About New Zealand Captain - In Pics)
"We will take every measure we can to make sure that we get the medical advice that lines up and he's where we want to be before we make that call on whether he goes [to India for the World Cup] or not. It's too early to know," Stead said while announcing the ODI squad for England as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
Williamson had surgery in April and is in a race against time to be fit for the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup in India in October-November. Experienced pacer Trent Boult and bowling all-rounder Kyle Jamieson have made a return to the New Zealand squad for the white-ball series against England starting from September 8 onwards.
Tom Latham will continue in his role as ODI captain in the absence of mainstay Kane Williamson, with the experienced right-hander to join up with his teammates in England to continue his rehabilitation from the knee injury he picked up earlier this year. (ICC Announces New Schedule For ODI World Cup 2023, Total 9 Changes Made, Check Here)
"Kane's working very much on a day-by-day, week-by-week process and we've been really clear and careful with him that we don't look too far ahead and, I guess, get expectations too big or not big enough at times as well. He's progressed as we've hoped and possibly even better in some cases but you know with ACL injuries they can be difficult, and different for every person as well. As I said, we'll try and get the medical experts around Kane as much as we can to help us make that decision in about three weeks' time," Stead said.
The ODI series in England will be New Zealand's second last prior to the World Cup - the team is also scheduled to play Bangladesh in September - and coach Gary Stead believes taking on the reigning World Cup champions will provide his side with a stern test.
"That's something we are talking about at the moment. If it's the knockout stages then I think that might be too late because you're saying something that may or may not even be there. But if it was earlier in the World Cup, I think we'd definitely be considering it," Stead said.
