New Zealand coach provides update on Kane Williamson’s progress from injury

Wellington [New Zealand], August 4 (ANI): Kane Williamson joined the New Zealand team training camp, however, according to head coach Gary Stead, his hitting and fitness are “not right at the level that he is to perform internationally.”The New Zealand batter has been sidelined for a while with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee but is back hitting balls in the nets as he makes progress in his recovery.

In a video posted by Cricket New Zealand, Williamson remarked on the sidelines of a New Zealand men’s team training camp at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui, “Great to see some of the guys and some of the new faces too. Looking forward to the team camp. Nice to have it here at home as well in the Mount [Maunganui], and get into some training and to just reconnect a little bit.”However, Williamson told the media that there is “still a bit of work to do” before he can return to international cricket.

The white-ball captain was seen batting in the nets in a video he released on Instagram a few days ago, and he claims that things have improved since then.

“It’s nice to see him with a bat in his hand and hitting the balls again, albeit it’s not right at the level that he is to perform internationally,” Gary Stead, New Zealand’s head coach, said.

“It’s set certainly on the road to recovery, and it’s hugely silver linings in injuries and how you look at them, and to keep saying, ‘hey, I am invested in this team and I really want to keep playing for this team’, is magic to hear,” he added.

Williamson had surgery in April and is in a race against time to be fit for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in India in October-November.

New Zealand have white-ball fixtures against UAE and England prior to that and the training camp is in the build-up to that, although Williamson is not part of those squads.

(ANI)