Williamson in IPL will be key for Kiwi cricket
Digest this: since January 26 last year through to next summer at the earliest, you will have had more chance to watch Kane Williamson bat in the flesh if you’re an Emirati stadium worker than if you’re a cricket-mad kid from this country’s only metropolis.
While that sucks pus, even if Williamson wasn’t dealing with a sore elbow, it would have made sense to rest him for the twin white-ball series against Bangladesh, no matter how troubling the “optics”.
At a quick glance, it feels hard to justify a rehabilitation programme that by design keeps the national captain out of a home series in order for him to be fit for an Indian franchise tournament.
As troubling as that might seem, it’s more important in the long term for Williamson to be available for Sunrisers Hyderabad next month than the Black Caps this month.
The Bangladesh series has little appeal, slotted in as it is deep into autumn and following the blueriband white-ball series of the season.
Why not play Bangladesh and then rest and rehab during the IPL?
It’s a simple question with a complex set of answers.
First and foremost, the injury might require urgent treatment, but even if it could be managed through the Bangladesh series, there are reasons it is better sorted now than in April and May.
NZC needs its stars to play the IPL. It is the leading franchise T20 tournament in the world. With eight overseas players per franchise (only four can play in any given match), it attracts the world’s best players. It is a melting pot of ideas and development.
The evolution of T20 cricket revolves around the IPL.
With a World T20 tournament in India this year, it is vital Williamson and other team leaders are exposed to the format’s latest trends. It’s not just New Zealand thinking like this.
“All I can say is the IPL has had
an outstanding effect on English cricket so far and the individuals involved in it,” said explosive keeper-batsman Jos Buttler, who was recently rested from the final three tests of England’s tour to India.
He also addressed the financial implications in a roundabout way.
“The tournament is the biggest in the whole of cricket in terms of money. Careers can be short. But we know playing for England is a huge draw for everyone and we’re very well remunerated playing for England — we’re very fortunate in that case,” Buttler told Cricinfo.
NZC cannot pay its players, even its stars, anywhere near what the ECB can, or Cricket Australia.
Williamson is in the top 1 per cent of his profession.
The IPL offers him the chance to be remunerated in a way that his hard work and talent warrants.
The likes of himself, Trent Boult, Kyle Jamieson and Lockie Ferguson et al are a shop window to the talent that exists here, and NZC wants as many players as possible to have a chance of getting life- and career-changing opportunities.
One of the key strategic goals for NZC’s high-performance programme is to have its best players available for their country for as long as possible.
Strong-arming them into playing essentially meaningless bilateral series at the cost of the IPL will not achieve that.
There’s a glaring example of that tactic having gone wrong and it’s called the West Indies.
Far too many of the region’s best talents have jettisoned the maroon cap because it makes no financial sense.
This is not to say Williamson would ever hold his board to ransom, but as time goes on, his priorities could change. Doing what you can to prevent that is entirely pragmatic.
Still, NZC knows it’s a PR tightrope. That could be heard in the almost apologetic way Black Caps coach Gary Stead framed his captain’s absence.
“Kane loves playing for his country — so it hasn’t been an easy decision to step back,” he said.
It should have been an easy decision. If you’re ever going to rest experienced players and experiment with different combinations, this is the time.
Williamson cannot be accused of shirking national duty.
The final T20I against Australia was the 301st time he’d taken the field for his country at senior level.
Only Ross Taylor, Daniel Vettori, Brendon McCullum, Stephen Fleming and Nathan Astle have played more, and only one of them is adding to their total (although Tim Southee, 300, will likely pass him this month unless he is rested, too).
This is a huge year for the Black Caps, and Williamson, a new father, will play a massive part in it.