Prior to the second Test between England and New Zealand, New Zealand captain Kane Williamson is doubtful for the match at Edgbaston due to an elbow injury. He has sustained the injury while the speedster Trent Boult is available for selection as well, coach Gary Stead has said on Tuesday.
Notably, Kane Williamson has been managing a tendon problem in his left elbow for quite some time now but despite having that, he led the team in the first Test at Lord’s last week which ended in a draw as well. However, because of this, he had to miss the ODI series against Bangladesh in March and the start of the Indian Premier League (IPL) too where he plays for SunRisers Hyderabad.
“His elbow is still niggling him a wee bit,” Stead said to the reporters. “He’s had some more treatment on that and we just want to make sure the best thing for him is playing this match versus taking a little bit more time to be ready.”
ALSO READ: Indian Women’s Team Gets First Dose Of COVID-19 Vaccine
Meanwhile, Trent Boult, who wasn’t featured in the first Test and also due to miss the second series also following a post-IPL break, has recently joined the squad and is likely to take part after completing isolation earlier than expected owing to the updated quarantine rules in the country.
“Trent’s back and available to be selected and it’s likely we’ll play him in this game,” Stead further added. “Things did change when he got here or from the information we had initially. It’s good news for us. The best thing for Trent is to get out there, get the Dukes ball in his hand and show us what he’s capable of.”
On the other hand, all-rounder Mitchell Santner has been ruled out of the second Test after he re-opened a cut on his left index finger during the final day of the first Test at Lord’s as well. And, Stead shared that Boult will replace one of Tim Southee, Neil Wagner or Kyle Jamieson in the second Test, starting on Thursday at Edgbaston as Kane Williamson led are preparing for the upcoming ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final against India, which starts on June 18 in Southampton.
READ HERE: Saba Karim Reveals The Name Of Potential Candidate For India Captain
“We want to make sure the key bowlers who we think will take part in that game are fresh, raring to go and ready for that first ball of the match versus India,” Stead concluded.
