Back to steady the ship

By Aiden McLaughlin

The last few years have had their fair share of injury challenges for Blackcaps batsman Kane Williamson, but at the start of of a five-match home T20 series against Pakistan, the Kiwi white-ball captain and his team are starting to look forward to the next global tournament, the T20 World Cup this June, taking place in the West Indies and the United States.

Williamson’s role in the recent World Cup held in India was hugely in doubt after he suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his knee while fielding for Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League in April, an injury which was expected to keep him out of the game for a minimum of nine months. That came on the back of a niggly tendon injury in his left elbow which disrupted his playing schedule for a couple of years.

But Williamson, 33, returned to action in just six months, captaining his country to the semi-finals of that 50-over showpiece.

“It was an interesting year. The knee’s been progressing really well and I’m really pleased with that. I felt really fortunate to be at the World Cup and be a part of that and also feel good, but at the same time it’s a bit of a long-term healing process and that’s ok, although I guess it’s just getting your head around the fact that you keep doing the work and I respond quite well when I do that. But it’s nice to be back, getting involved in this series and I know the whole team are looking forward to the occasion,” he says.

Williamson went straight from India to Bangladesh where New Zealand played a two-match Test series starting at the end of November. That series was drawn one a piece, with the 96-Test talisman scoring a century in the first Test in Sylhet. Returning home to New Zealand, he was subsequently rested for the three match ODI and three match T20 series, both against Bangladesh. But now he’s back, along with bowlers Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, both returning from injury, and opening batsman Devon Conway, who was also rested for the home games against Bangladesh.

The recent absence of those key players gave others in the wider New Zealand set-up some opportunities, which potentially presents some hard selection decisions for the upcoming T20 World Cup.

“It’s a really healthy thing I think, that so many players are getting different opportunities. Guys are playing cricket around the world so ultimately that’s building the depth of our game which is a great thing and I suppose there’s still time between now and the next major event and those decisions will be made much closer to that time,” says Williamson.

Pakistan have travelled to New Zealand on the back of a disappointing 3-0 Test series defeat in Australia, with Shaheen Shah Afridi installed as their new T20 captain, following Babar Azam’s resignation as captain across all three formats after the ODI World Cup. Wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan has been named as T20 vice-captain.

The five-match series starts at Eden Park on Friday night, and, following a two-Test home series against South Africa, a further three-match T20 series for New Zealand is scheduled at home against Australia next month.

“Naturally when you’re building up to major events, the weight of cricket becomes that format, which is the T20, and you know, playing Pakistan is always a fantastic opportunity. They’re consistently one of the best teams in the world in all conditions, so to have them here in our backyard and having another contest is great,” he says.

“The talent that Pakistan have, and always have in their side is there for everybody to see and when they play all around the world you know they have strong spin options, always a very strong fast bowling unit, mixed in with a balance of world class batters, so that’s a pretty good recipe for a very good side.”

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