New Zealand head coach Gary Stead said that Kane Williamson should be available for New Zealand’s third World Cup 2023 match and he also provided updates on the injuries to Tim Southee and Lockie Ferguson. Ferguson, Williamson, and Southee were noticeably missing from the Blackcaps’ opening game against defending champions England.
New Zealand defeated England with a dominating nine-wicket victory with the combined efforts of the bowlers and the partnership the Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra. The pair successfully chased down a target of 283 with 82 balls remaining which largely boosted their net run rate in the tournament.
Speaking on New Zealand Instagram’s handle, Gary Stead provided an update on the status of their injured players as he stated that Lockie Ferguson should be available for selection for the match on October 9 against the Netherlands and Southee will have a final X-ray on Sunday, and a decision will be made in accordance with the results.
“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,” Gary Stead said.
Tim Southee suffered a thumb injury while trying to take a catch of Joe Root in the final ODI against England and the experienced pacer can be crucial for the team in crunch games in the World Cup 2023. The 34-year-old can be a critical cog in the Black Caps’ wheel, as the veteran can obtain swing and seam movement from the surface.
We Are Pretty Confident That He Will Be Playing The Third Match – Gary Stead
Gary Stead said that Williamson has been making good progress and asserted that his fielding needs to be improved to get back on to the field and expressed his confidence in their skipper walking into the side for the third game against Bangladesh on October 13th.
“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 the third game is when he will start the tournament,” Gary Stead added.
Kane Williamson is still recovering from a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). Earlier, It looked like Williamson might miss the World Cup altogether, but he has recovered well enough to be named as the captain of the New Zealand team for the ICC World Cup 2023 and would look to make it into the playing 11 for the team’s crucial game in the mega event.
