Cricket News By TODAYLIVESCORE.INFO - 'I think surgery is unlikely' - Stead on Williamson's elbow. Kane is likely to be sidelined for 8-9 weeks which will rule him out of New Zealand's next assignment at home against Bangladesh
Kane is likely to be sidelined for 8-9 weeks which will rule him out of New Zealand's next assignment at home against Bangladesh
New Zealand head coach Gary Stead has revealed that skipper Kane Williamson is unlikely to undergo surgery on his troublesome elbow. Williamson has had issues with his elbow for a while that saw him miss the second Test against India in Mumbai recently.
Even though Stead doesn't expect Williamson to go under the knife, the 31-year-old is likely to be sidelined for 8-9 weeks which will rule him out of New Zealand's next assignment at home against Bangladesh. “I think surgery is unlikely,” Stead said. “With the tendon injuries around the elbow, my understanding of the situation from talking to our physio is all surgery would do is ensure rehab is done. If we don't have to cut a tendon, our choice is not to do that as well.
“So Kane is going along okay. I expect it to be a sustained period of time. Last time, if you look after the World Test Championship and before the IPL and T20 WC, was about eight or nine weeks. So, I expect it's somewhere in that time-frame again. We're trying not to put time-frames on it at this stage.”
Stead also pointed out that senior batter Ross Taylor's struggles in the Test series had a lot to do with the lack of game time. Taylor struggled in all four innings and ended up scoring only 20 runs throwing his future into doubt. “Ross has had a disappointing tour by his standards, but he's been an exceptional player for New Zealand for a long, long period of time,” Stead observed. “So he's not the only guy that has come to India or Asian conditions and struggled over here.
“I think there's some factors behind it, with the lack of match-time beforehand. We had a number of trainings or a couple of trainings before the second Test that was washed out as well. I think Ross will look back and be disappointed at that himself. It's a fine balance here, though, between trying to play aggressively and put the spinners under some pressure and also trusting your defence to bat for long periods.”
Stead also confirmed that he will have discussions with Taylor and the selectors on the batter's future in the game. The 37-year-old, who became the first player ever to feature in 100 games in each format, has competition for his spot from the likes of Will Young and Daryl Mitchell, according to Stead.
“I think the thing that's encouraging for our team is we have more options now than what we did have a year or two years ago,” Stead said. “You've seen the emergence of Will Young and Daryl Mitchell, in particular, who have come onto the Test scene and done really well. But let's not also forget that Ross Taylor has an amazing record behind him as well.
“He's been one of New Zealand's premier batsmen for a long, long period of time, and you don't lose that class just over one tour. I've got to get home and speak with the selectors and have a conversation with Ross as well, around where he sees his game going forward.”
