Injury puts Williamson in doubt for first test
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson continues to be hampered by a groin injury but coach Gary Stead remains confident he can lead the side against Pakistan in tomorrow’s first cricket test.
Williamson missed Monday’s third one-day international in the 1-1 series draw as a precaution and Stead revealed his skipper was still not 100 per cent as they ramp up their final two days of training at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
Given his importance to the side as their premier batsman, and the size of the task facing them already, Williamson’s absence would be a major blow for the Black Caps who will do all they can to get him to the start line.
‘‘He’s got a little bit of a groin niggle that’s aggravating him. It changes a little bit day by day but I’m pretty positive he’s going to be fine for the first test,’’ Stead said.
‘‘There’s always the chance with a niggle that it can get worse.
‘‘Hopefully the five or six days he’ll have off allows time for the injury to settle. We can also manage his movements in the test match a little bit easier.’’
If Williamson was ruled out, Stead said Tom Latham and Tim Southee were the leading contenders to take over. Latham looks the obvious choice, after he took the reins in the game three ODI washout in Dubai.
It would also mean backup wicketkeeper Tom Blundell slotting in as a specialist batsman as the only extra batsman in the squad, with Henry Nicholls probably moving up to No 3.
Stead, meanwhile, all but guaranteed Ajaz Patel a first test cap as they toss up between Will Somerville and Ish Sodhi for the other spin berth.
Stead confirmed a likely bowling balance of two spinners, two seamers and allrounder Colin de Grandhomme in spin-friendly Abu Dhabi but was noncommittal on the makeup of the four specialists.
One name he’d pencilled into the XI was Patel, the 30-year-old Central Stags left-armer who was top Plunket Shield wicket-taker for a third straight season.
He made a handy Twenty20 international debut for his country in Abu Dhabi and due to the injury absences of Mitchell Santner and Todd Astle was suddenly the first choice.
‘‘If you look at the results of spinners over here, a left-arm spinner normally does well. I’d be surprised if Ajaz doesn’t get a debut spot here and then we’ll work through what we think the right balance is,’’ said Stead.
‘‘Whether we go with the leggie or the offspinner, we’ll review who we think is likely to be in the Pakistan team and their balance of left and right-handers.’’
The presence of lefties Haris Sohail and Imam-ul-Haq in the Pakistan top-six might strengthen the case for Somerville, the lanky
34-year-old offspinner summoned for the injured Astle after two Plunket Shield games for his new province Auckland.
Australian offspinner Nathan Lyon caused early headaches for Pakistan with extra bounce with the new ball in last month’s test in Abu Dhabi, which ended in a
373-run win for the hosts. Sodhi is the test incumbent, having replaced Astle in the drawn second test against England in April, although he wasn’t overly convincing with the ball in that match and struggled in the recent limited overs series.
‘‘Ish has missed a couple of times with a few balls but overall he’s been bowling quite nicely. We haven’t seen a lot of Will so our training may take on some importance in the next two days,’’ Stead said.
‘‘He’s coming off recent travel so we want to monitor how he’s going from a physical point of view and his readiness for this test.’’
On the pace bowling front, Trent Boult and Neil Wagner appear the likely top two with Southee and Matt Henry in reserve.
Stead wouldn’t offer a preferred two and said with five successive tests looming (three in the UAE then two at home against Sri Lanka), the pace bowlers would be rotated to ensure no early season burnout.