Black Caps v Sri Lanka: Battle soon begins to replace Kane Williamson

Kane Williamson is carried off the field after injuring his right knee. Photo / AP

The Black Caps have spent the end of their home summer building what had been a depleted level of depth. They never could have imagined how painfully important that task would become.

The series-deciding T20 against Sri Lanka on Saturday has been overshadowed by confirmation that Kane Williamson will almost certainly miss the ODI World Cup, having ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.

With that showpiece tournament starting in India on October 5 – and with Williamson still waiting for swelling to subside before he has surgery in two-to-three weeks – even the most optimistic timeframe will see the skipper battling to be involved.

“Our first thoughts are with Kane at the moment – it’s a tough time for him,” said coach Gary Stead. “It’s not an injury that you’d expect is going to happen. It comes out of the blue and obviously hits you pretty hard at the time.

“You take out Kane the player, for a start, but then Kane the leader and the person that he is in our group as well. It’s a huge spanner in the works for us.”

Indeed, what had been a relatively settled first-choice XI now features a rather big hole at No 3.

After the Sri Lankan series ends in Queenstown, where the Black Caps are hoping to conclude the home summer with a seventh win in their last eight completed games across formats, the audition for Williamson’s replacement will begin.

A five-match ODI series in Pakistan, starting later this month, looms as the first opportunity for Stead and his fellow selectors to assess their options.

With the IPL contingent still absent, New Zealand’s squad for that tour includes five batsmen who will harbour ambition of playing their way on to the plane to India.

Canterbury captain Cole McConchie, yet to debut, would require something special to book a ticket, while Chad Bowes’ first two ODIs against Sri Lanka last month reaped 15 runs.

Tom Blundell will likely open with Bowes in Pakistan — having last week played his first ODI in three years — and strong performances from either player could open the possibility of Devon Conway shifting to No 3 at the World Cup.

But the most probable scenario appears for Williamson’s replacement to be determined by the winner of a head-to-head battle between Henry Nicholls and Will Young.

Nicholls opened at the last World Cup and has batted throughout the order during a 62-match ODI career, amassing an average of 35.3 and a strike rate of 81.9. Notably, during the Black Caps’ trip to India in January, the 31-year-old came in at No 3 in all three games, with Williamson back home preparing for the England test series.

Young has batted largely at No 3 during his 10 ODIs, recording an average of 50.3 and a strike rate of 87.8. In the third match against Sri Lanka last month, the 30-year-old produced a Williamson-like knock when the Black Caps were in trouble, scoring an unbeaten 86 while forming a match-winning stand with Nicholls.

The pair will surely play as much ODI cricket as possible between now and the World Cup, but their upcoming opportunities in subcontinental conditions may be particularly crucial to their chances.

“Pakistan have just named a strong side to play us,” Stead said. “They beat us in the T20 World Cup, and they have all their players back and firing, and they’re just coming off the PSL as well.

“So it’ll be a really big challenge for the team ahead, but it’s an exciting time when you consider that we have eight or nine players at the IPL and it gives us a natural opportunity to build some depth.”