Kane Williamson will join New Zealand’s squad in England in the coming days after the Black Caps captain and his wife Sarah Raheem welcomed their second child. Kane Williamson will now be seen in a three-match Test series against England, with the first match set to commence at Lord’s on June 2.
Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper Kane Williamson left the franchise’s bio-bubble to fly back to New Zealand for the birth of his child. The announcement came a few hours after Kane Williamson led SRH to a win in the must-win clash against Mumbai Indians.
Kane Williamson had left the SRH camp on May 18 to accompany his better half during the introduction of their second kid. In his nonattendance, pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar drove the team in the last league stage match of IPL 2022 against Punjab Kings on Sunday.
Kane Williamson To Join New Zealand Squad For England Tour After Being A Father For The 2nd Time
In 13 games, the Kiwi and SRH skipper has scored 216 runs at a modest average of 19.64 and a very poor strike rate of 93.51. Kane Williamson flew back to New Zealand for the impending birth of his second child. At the time, it wasn’t confirmed whether or not the Sunrisers Hyderabad would make it to the playoffs. But a couple of games later, the Orange Army found themselves two points behind the top-four contestants and were eliminated.
Kane Williamson posted a picture of the new baby boy with mum and daughter Maggie on social media, writing: “Welcome to the whanau little man!”
He left the Indian Premier League early to return home for the birth and will now join the Black Caps in England in the lead-up to the first Test at Lord’s on June 2.
Devon Conway And Tim Southee Have Linked Up With The Kiwi Squad
Batsmen CSK’s Devon Conway and KKR seamer Tim Southee have already linked up with the squad after their IPL teams failed to make the playoffs. Kane Williamson, fast bowler Neil Wagner and batsman Daryl Mitchell are expected to arrive on Wednesday, on the eve of the second tour match against a Counties XI team in Essex. Spinner Ajaz Patel, who is one of only three players to have taken 10 wickets in a test inning, will return to the New Zealand cricket squad for its three-Test tour to England next month.
Ajaz Patel joined Jim Laker of England and Anil Kumble of India in an elite club when he took 10-119 in New Zealand’s 2nd Test against hosts India in Mumbai last December. The left-arm spinner hasn’t played a Test since. He was left out of the Kiwis’ home series against Bangladesh and South Africa when New Zealand opted for all-pace attacks. Ajaz Patel returns as New Zealand’s frontline spinner for the England series.
New Zealand had announced an extended 20-man squad for the England tour, designed to cover the early absence of players involved in the IPL 2022. Those players will miss New Zealand’s warm-up matches and the squad will be trimmed to 15 before the first test against England starting June 2 at Lord’s.
New Zealand beat England when the teams last met in a Test series in England last year, prior to New Zealand’s win over India in the final of the inaugural World Test Championship. The squad includes off-spinning allrounder Michael Bracewell, wicketkeeper-batsman Cam Fletcher, and pace bowler Blair Tickner, who will be touring with New Zealand for the first time.
Three members of the New Zealand touring party have tested positive for Covid-19 on the morning of the squad’s first tour match in England against Sussex in Brighton. The trio of Henry Nicholls, Blair Tickner, and Shane Jurgensen returned the positive tests on Friday morning ahead of the first day’s play in the English southern coastal city and have begun a mandatory five-day isolation period in their respective hotel rooms.
New Zealand squad: Kane Williamson (captain), Will Young, Tom Latham, Hamish Rutherford, Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, Daryl Mitchell, Michael Bracewell, Tom Blundell, Colin de Grandhomme, Rachin Ravindra, Cam Fletcher, Kyle Jamieson, Matt Henry, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner, Ajaz Patel, Blair Tickner, Jacob Duffy, Trent Boult.