Bangas and smashed
It’s rare, this Kane Williamson injury, but not serious.
Which is a major relief to coach Gary Stead and the Black Caps with less than three months until the Cricket World Cup, but also has them scratching their heads.
New Zealand’s captain is an unlikely starter in the third cricket test against Bangladesh starting in Christchurch on Saturday, but the nature of his grade one pectoral muscle tear means they’re yet to rule him out. How rare?
‘‘They’ve only seen five in the world before. It’s very minor but we’re hopeful he will recover quickly,’’ Stead said after the Black Caps’ innings and 12-run win in the second test in Wellington.
‘‘The physio and staff were saying we’d make this a case study because it is so rare. It’s like any muscle, there’s irritation and a wee bit of bleeding but it’s not a major injury. We’re hopeful in a short period of time he’ll be back to full noise.’’
Williamson suffered the injury to his left shoulder region when diving in the field on Sunday, and batted through the pain for 162 minutes for 74 in New Zealand’s innings of 432-6 declared.
He wasn’t seen on the field since then, and Tim Southee took over the captaincy. Williamson underwent an MRI scan yesterday which revealed the tear to the minor (smaller) pectoral muscle on his left side.
Central Stags batsman Will Young is overdue an international debut and will play in Christchurch if Williamson is ruled out. But the captain will still travel south with the team today and be monitored by medical staff.
It seems an unnecessary risk not ruling Williamson out immediately, given his importance to the side.
Stead countered: ‘‘If he’s fit, no player wants to give up their spot in the test team. It’s safe to say we’ll probably err on the conservative side and if there’s any chance of risk then we’re likely to pull him from that game.’’
Then it becomes slightly tricky for Stead and New Zealand Cricket.
Williamson and team-mates are scheduled to attend the NZC awards dinner next Thursday then the Indian Premier League players fly out to join their franchises. They won’t be seen again until May, when the Black Caps assemble for the World Cup.
‘‘From what I’ve been speaking to the physio and Kane about, if things progress as we hope then still going to the IPL shouldn’t be a problem for him,’’ Stead said.
‘‘But he’s also aware if it’s not quite 100 then we will potentially hold him back and just make sure he is right before he goes on that plane.
Wicketkeeper BJ Watling’s situation is more positive and he looks a more likely starter in the third test.
He suffered a left hamstring twinge during warmups yesterday and substitute fielder Peter Bocock was handed the gloves.
Wellington’s Tom Blundell, who scored his sixth first-class century against Otago yesterday, is the obvious replacement for Watling but Stead will wait a day before deciding whether cover is needed.
Yesterday’s win means New Zealand will remain the world’s No 2 test side at season’s end after notching their fifth successive series victory.
Neil Wagner bounded in and bounced his way to 5-45 to give him nine wickets for the match, while Trent Boult took 4-52 as they wrapped it up just before lunch on the fifth day.