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When New Zealand plays England in the first Test of their home summer at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch from November 28 to December 2, coach Gary Stead is “very confident” that Kane Williamson will be back in action.
The management of the New Zealand team will continue to take a cautious approach to Williamson’s rehabilitation since they did not want to take the chance of pushing him back into action too soon for the Mumbai Test, which starts on Friday. Just before the three-match Test series in India began last month, Williamson, 34, sustained a groin injury while touring Sri Lanka.
“Yeah, very confident,” Stead said of Williamson’s availability for the first Test against England. “I mean at a push we could have got him over here [in India] immediately, but considering I guess the travel factor and making sure that you can actually recover properly when you get here, we didn’t feel though that was worth the risk. So we’re happy with having him ready and very, very confident he’ll be right for that first Test versus England.”
New Zealand managed to win their first-ever Test series in India even though Williamson missed the entire series. Will Young, who was ranked third by Williamson, defeated players like Jasprit Bumrah and R Ashwin in Bengaluru and Pune under different circumstances.
“Look, it’s always disappointing when he’s not over here with us,” Stead said of Williamson. “I mean, he’s New Zealand’s greatest Test run-scorer for a reason, and I think whenever you have Kane in your side, it looks a stronger side. But the guys have gone really well.
“We’ve adapted well without him here. The best thing for Kane is just to get himself completely right for England and we’re certainly looking forward to him coming back and hopefully making a difference in that Test series over there for us.”