Cricket World Cup: Kane Williamson to miss Black Caps’ opener against England

Black Caps captain Kane Williamson will miss the opening game of the Cricket World Cup against England as he continues rehabilitation from a knee injury.

Williamson will play as a batsman only in today’s first warm-up match against Pakistan in Hyderabad, with the aim of batting and fielding in Monday’s second and final warm-up against South Africa in Trivandrum.

But he will miss the rematch of the 2019 final against England, with coach Gary Stead saying the priority is ensuring Williamson has time to progress his return to full match fitness.

“Right from the start we’ve taken a long-term view on Kane’s return to play,” said Stead. “His recovery is tracking well and it’s now a matter of making sure he can cope with the rigours and intensity of international cricket.

“We’ll continue to take a day-by-day approach to Kane’s rehabilitation and certainly won’t be putting any pressure on him to return before he is ready.”

Speaking to media before boarding the flight to India earlier in the week, Williamson said he wasn’t experiencing much discomfort in the recovering joint.

“Not a huge amount, although the load is going to keep increasing so there’s a little bit of an unknown. But it has felt pretty good really in the last few weeks and I’m hoping that it continues to feel like that.”

The 33-year-old suffered an ACL injury while playing for the Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League on April 2. Williamson said the injury was unlikely to affect his approach to batting, experiencing issues mainly when coming to a halt while running in the field.