Williamson back in the New Zealand ODI squad for England with Nathan Smith also getting a call-up as well.
Williamson, Nathan Smith back in New Zealand squad for England ODIs.
On October 26, Kane Williamson will make his comeback for New Zealand in the three-match ODI series against England, which begins at his home stadium, Bay Oval. Williamson, 35, has been out of the current T20I series for the previous month due to an undisclosed “minor medical issue.”
One of the players with a casual contract with New Zealand Cricket (NZC) is Williamson. As part of his agreement with Middlesex, he had previously ruled himself out of the three-match Twenty20 International series against Australia and skipped the Zimbabwean trip to play county cricket and the Hundred. Williamson was most recently named the IPL strategic advisor for the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).
Rob Walter, the head coach of New Zealand, greeted Williamson and Smith when they returned to the lineup. Williamson will be playing for New Zealand for the first time since the Champions Trophy final earlier this year in March in Dubai. Smith participated in the final as well, but he replaced Matt Henry at the last minute due to an injury.
“Kane and Nathan have had to work hard to overcome their respective injuries and illness,” Walter said in a statement. “We all know what Kane means to the Blackcaps – to have his skill, experience and leadership back in the group is fantastic.
“Nathan’s still relatively new to his international career, but he’s impressed with his all-round skills and ability in the field.”
Having undergone rehab, Smith has declared himself fit and ready for the New Zealand summer.
“Yeah, always exciting when you get the opportunity to play for New Zealand in any series,” Smith said. “The last period from that [Bulawayo] Test to now has looked like a bit of rest initially. And then after a couple of weeks, you can sort of start to get moving again and strengthen the ab back-ups. Since the start of September, I’ve been ripping into some rehab and building the bowling loads back up. It’s just been a really good period to get some strength in and build some training back up for a busy season.”
However, Finn Allen (foot), Lockie Ferguson (hamstring), Adam Milne (ankle), Will O’Rourke (back), Glenn Phillips (groin), and Ben Sears (hamstring) were all unavailable due to injury.