Steady The Ship to head to World Cup regardless if fit

Black Caps white-ball captain Kane Williamson has had successful surgery on the anterior cruciate ligament of his right knee and has begun rehabilitating but hopes of appearing at the Cricket World Cup appear slim.

Williamson was carried from the field in an Indian Premier League clash earlier this month after injuring his right knee while on debut for the Gujarat Titans.

Coach Gary Stead provided an update today saying Williamson remains unlikely to play at the World Cup in October and November following surgery, but they want him to attend in a mentoring role regardless.

“It’s still far too early to know. To date what we know, that’s been successful. He’s in the very early early stages of his rehab programme. It’s obviously pretty weight-bearing at this stage and he’s in a brace,” Stead said.

“It’s really just meeting milestones as we go. It’s unlikely that he will be available, but we certainly don’t want to rule out a person of his class and calibre and the things that he brings to this team too early in case there is that chance.”

As much as Williamson appears to be irreplaceable, Mark Chapman could potentially fill his spot in India after a strong showing in the recent Twenty20 series against Pakistan earned him a place in the ODI series starting this week.

The left-hander scored 290 runs in the five match series at a strike rate of 166, including an unbeaten century in the final game. Chapman has played seven ODIs for the Black Caps with a batting average of 52.40 including two centuries against UAE and Scotland.

“It’s not just about one knock of Mark Chapman, why he was added to the ODI squad, but there is a lot of competition for places. It’s not so much about the competition, but it’s how we keep building towards the World Cup and Mark Chapman is still one guy that is in our thoughts around that,” Stead added.

Henry Nichols and Tom Bundell have joined the ODI squad while Dane Cleaver has returned home following the T20 series. Stead said that Ben Lister is in doubt for the opening two matches in Pakistan due to an ankle problem.

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