New Zealand captain Kane Williamson expects a challenging game in the upcoming two-match test series against South Africa’s depleted team. This series is part of the World Test Championship cycle and the first test will take place on February 4th at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui.
New Zealand has never won a Test series against South Africa, but they see this as a great opportunity since the Proteas have an abundance of inexperienced players. South Africa has eight uncapped players on their squad, with most of them playing in the SA20 league.
Speaking to the media, Kane Williamson has acknowledged that the match against South Africa will be difficult, but he intends to adopt a positive style of cricket and focus on playing as a team. He believes that this approach will give the Black Caps an excellent chance of winning their first series against South Africa.
“We are under no illusions that it is going to be a tough contest for sure. They are all very good players and we just want to keep bringing the focus back to our cricket. Any win anywhere is crucial. That’s why it is difficult to micro-manage a Test championship campaign”.
“It’s such a long period of time, and the games can come a bit sporadically with the Test cricket. So it’s trying to just connect together as a group, and focus on the cricket that we want to play. That gives us the best chance [to win] and try and do that for long periods. That’s the focus going into the series,” Kane Williamson said.
South Africa caused quite a stir in the cricket world when they announced a very inexperienced squad for their two-match Test series against New Zealand. This was due to a scheduling clash between the SA20 and the Test series. The experienced Proteas team decided to focus on the T20 league, keeping the 2024 T20 World Cup in mind.
It Has Progressed Well In The Last Couple Of Weeks – Kane Williamson
Kane Williamson has confirmed that he is fully recovered from his hamstring injury and is ready to play in the two-match Test series against South Africa. He is looking forward to joining the red-ball team and training with them.
“My hamstring is good, it’s progressed well in the last couple of weeks, Feeling good, and looking forward to getting back to training and joining up with the team. The weather has been incredible”.
“Extremely hot, so yes, I am confident. And like I said will just be nice to join back up with the side and I think all the guys are really looking forward to getting back together as a Test team,” Kane Williamson added.
Last month, Williamson missed the final leg of the T20I series against Pakistan due to a right hamstring injury. This is the same leg where he had previously damaged his anterior cruciate ligament in 2023, which had kept him out of cricket for around six months.