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New Zealand’s regular opener Kane Williamson missed out on the playing XI in the World Cup 2023 opener against England at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Thursday, October 5. The right-handed batter has been rested as a precautionary measure.
Interestingly, Williamson took part in the warmup games against Pakistan and South Africa. That came after he recovered from a knee injury that he sustained while playing for Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League this year.
Latham told the reporters, as quoted by cricketworldcup.com:
"Yeah, I guess any team that doesn't have Kane in it is obviously...we'd certainly be better off having him. But I think from our point of view for him to be here, to be at the World Cup is a testament to, I think the work that he's put on over the last four to five months to be where he is."
He continued:
"So, for him, it's a day-by-day process in terms of where his recovery is at. He's obviously played a little bit of a part of the last two warm-up games. You know he's been batting beautifully which is great to see and he was out in the field a couple of days ago so he's progressing really nicely and fingers crossed he's on the park sooner rather than later."
Williamson recently scored unbeaten 54 and 37 in the warmup
matches. The 33-year-old is likely to be available for their next World Cup fixture against the Netherlands at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Monday, October 9.
Williamson is critical for the Blackcaps. He was New Zealand’s leading run-scorer in World Cup 2019, scoring 578 runs in nine innings at an average of 82.57, including two tons and as many half-centuries.
Overall, he has amassed 911 runs in 23 World Cup matches so far.
Tom Latham leading New Zealand in Kane Williamson’s absence
Tom Latham is leading New Zealand in Kane Williamson’s absence in their World Cup opener against England. He won the toss and chose to bowl first.
Apart from Williamson, Lockie Ferguson, Tim Southee, and Ish Sodhi also missed out on the opening game due to injuries.
At the toss, Latham said:
“Going to have a bowl. Looks a reasonably good surface. Hopefully later on it gets better to bat. Preparation has been great. Guys came together from different parts of the world a week ago. Unfortunately, Kane's not quite ready yet. Ferguson has got a bit of a niggle. Sodhi, Kane, Southee all miss out.”
England, on the other hand, left out Ben Stokes, David Willey, Reece Topley, and Atkinson from their playing XI. Captain Jos Buttler said:
“Would've bowled first as well. Looks a really good wicket. Preparation has been okay. Had a good series against NZ at home. Very proud of the achievement four years ago. Ben's going to miss this game. Has a niggle with his hip. Guys missing out are Atkinson, Topley, Willey, and Stokes."
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