Kane Williamson "still day-by-day" after World Cup confirmed

Kane Williamson will be at the Cricket World Cup, much to the relief of Black Caps fans, but whether he’ll be ready to play still remains in the air.

Williamson was this morning confirmed in the 15-man squad for the World Cup in India, just five months after suffering an ACL injury in the Indian Premier League.

The 33-year-old suffered the knee injury while playing for the Gujarat Titans on April 2 and appeared a “slim” chance to play in his fourth ODI World Cup.

But the Black Caps confirmed this morning their regular white-ball skipper will be in India, with the rest of the squad to be revealed next week. Now he just needs to make sure he’ll be ready.

Like a methodical Williamson innings, there have been few hiccups so far in his recovery but he admits he is still “day-by-day” in terms of putting load on the knee.

“It’s really pleasing to be at the stage I’m at now. To be selected in the squad with still a month to go before the first game, which is an important time to keep improving,” Williamson said this morning.

“There’s a little bit more change-of-direction stuff. The running is progressing quite nicely as well. It’s really still day-by-day in terms of how the knee is feeling after the increase in load, and whether to push again or perhaps let it settle a little bit before we go into that next step. It’s a grey period but there’s been really really good progress up until this point and I’m certainly hoping that continues,” he added.

Williamson was named player of the tournament at the 2019 World Cup, scoring centuries against South Africa and West Indies, after leading the side to the final against England. His last ODI was against Pakistan in January when New Zealand claimed a first series win in the sub-continent since 2008.

Williamson said the prospect of playing a World Cup was a driving motivator but said the overall health of his knee was the priority.

“It’s great to have a bit of a goal. Having said that, the health of my knee is the priority. Naturally, a World Cup is an exciting prospect but a lot of things had to align basically to consider that a reality. It keeps you in the gym every day and working hard with the fantastic team that have supported me really well back home. That’s still the focus at the moment. It’s been really pleasing to see the progress and keep taking those little steps forward.”

The Black Caps open their World Cup campaign against fellow 2019 finalists England on Thursday, October 5, in Ahmedabad. The two nations square off in a four-match ODI series beginning in the UK this week, where Williamson is with the New Zealand camp continuing his recovery.

Black Caps coach Gary Stead said while Williamson’s selection doesn’t guarantee he will be available for the first match, he continues to make strong progress in his recovery.

“Kane has applied phenomenal dedication to his rehabilitation and has been supported by a strong group of experts around him. He’s left no stone unturned in trying to get back playing cricket at the highest level. We are delighted to be in a place to select him.

“At the same time, he’s also kept perspective about his recovery and hasn’t wanted to rush or force his way back too early. As we’ve previously said, it’s great he wants to play cricket for New Zealand in the long term.”

Stead noted there wasn’t a specific match timeline on Williamson’s return to play.

“As we’ve said throughout this process we want to give Kane every bit of available time to aid his recovery. The World Cup is not a short tournament and we will continue to monitor his progress over the next month ahead of the first tournament match.”

The remainder of the Black Caps ICC Cricket World Cup Squad for India will be named on September 11 at an event in Auckland at Papatoetoe High School, Ish Sodhi’s old school.

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission