New Zealand coach Gary Stead has said that Kane Williamson should be available from their third match of the World Cup 2023 campaign and also provided injury updates on Tim Southee and Lockie Ferguson.
Williamson, Southee and Ferguson were all absent from the opening match of the World Cup 2023 for the Blackcaps. This was due to health issues that they were dealing with at the time.
Williamson had ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee at the end of March 2023 and had undergone surgery. Despite participating in two warm-up games, he missed the win over England as he was striving to reach full fitness.
Southee also missed the opening match due to a thumb injury. He had dislocated his thumb three weeks prior to the World Cup and had undergone surgery.
Speaking on New Zealand cricket’s official Instagram profile, Stead provided the update on all three players. He started with Ferguson and said that the pacer should be available for selection for the clash against the Netherlands on October 9.
The New Zealand coach said that Southee also got through training well and will get a final X-ray done on Sunday and depending on it, a call will be made. However, Stead expects the veteran pacer to be available for the clash against the Netherlands.
“A quick injury wrap of where we’re at with a number of guys we trained last night. Lockie Ferguson got through that training really well, So, providing he’s scrubbed up ok this morning, he will be available for this next game.”
“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 as well. He will just get a final x-ray done this morning. Then we will make a call after that. But it’s all looking good for selection from now onto the rest of the tournament as well,” said Stead.
Stead said that Williamson has been progressing well and fielding is the element where he needs to get better. The New Zealand coach expects his skipper to be fit for their third game against Bangladesh in Ahmedabad.
“Kane has also been progressing very well. I think the fielding is still the element for him, that he’s just got to get a little bit higher and get a little bit more trust in his body. 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 once we’ve got through that training. But at this stage with Kane, we are looking like third game is when he will start the tournament,” said Stead.
