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Sport Nation
Gisborne: Planned outages Tue-Wed'He's not far away': Blackcaps play it safe with Williamson, scratched from T20 series vs England
Sport Nation • October 13th, 2025 8:52 am
Kane Williamson | Photo: Photosport
The Blackcaps will have to further bide their time with Kane Williamson, with the star batter ruled out of the upcoming T20 series against England.
Williamson played no part in the recent Chappell-Hadlee series against Australia but was expected to be fit and ready to reclaim his place in the squad for the three-match tilt against Brendon McCullum's men, which starts in Christchurch on Saturday.
But a "minor medical issue" has put paid to those hopes, with the expectation reset for a comeback in the proceeding one-day international series, beginning October 26.
Coach Rob Walter admits it's difficult to replace a player of Williamson's calibre but says erring on the side of caution is the wise approach to take given the schedule ahead.
"I think the great thing is that Kane's not far away," Walter told Sport Nation's Scotty & Izzy.
"We just thought there was no real need to push him to try and be ready for the T20s but focus on the rest of the summer, more importantly.
"We're hoping that he'll be ready for the ODI…it'll be great to get him back in the jersey."
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Williamson hasn't featured for New Zealand in the T20 format since last year's World Cup in the United States and West Indies.
His last match in black was at the Champions Trophy in March, when the Blackcaps were beaten by India in the final in Dubai.
Walter says he's been in constant communication with Williamson over his status, and insists the 35-year-old's ambitions to represent his country are as strong as ever.
"He definitely has desire to play for New Zealand, no doubt about that," he explained.
"It was really around just when and that looks really good for the ODIs."
In more positive injury news, the squad will be buoyed by the injury returns of captain Mitchell Santner and star all-rounder Rachin Ravindra.
Ravindra returns to the side after being ruled out of the recent series against Australia with a facial injury, while Santner has recovered from his recent abdominal surgery to lead the side in the three-game series which gets underway at Hagley Oval.
Having impressed as Ravindra's replacement against Australia, Jimmy Neesham retains his place in the squad, with Ish Sodhi missing out.
Ben Sears will also miss the series after he suffered a left-hamstring injury during training last week, with a subsequent MRI scan revealing a hamstring tear which will require three to four weeks to recover.
Finn Allen (foot), Adam Milne (ankle), Will O’Rourke (back), Glenn Phillips (groin), and Lockie Ferguson (hamstring), were all unavailable due to injury.
Blackcaps T20 squad v England:
Mitchell Santner (C), Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes, Matt Henry, Bevon Jacobs, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Robinson, Tim Seifert (WK).
Tune into Sport Nation for live, free-to-air commentary of every match in the Blackcaps' T20 & ODI series against England.
Listen to the full interview below:
