Injuries and comebacks are always tricky. For an elite athlete, the toughest phase is the thinking time on the bench, along with the arduous rehab and recovery.
The uncertainty of regaining full fitness with confidence after taking a hit always lingers. And more importantly, crossing the psychological barrier of being back to the best remains the biggest challenge.
To cricket fans lured to the game, Kane Williamson seems to keep his promise of playing in the 2023 ODI World Cup.
Williamson, who ruptured his ACL in March during the IPL 2023, is poised to return as New Zealand captain after the team hit the ground running in a practice session at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Saturday.
Just like their style of play, the Black Caps arrived at the stadium away from the media glare without any fanfare, with the majority of the squad taking part in a training session.
New Zealand will take on the Netherlands in the sixth match of the World Cup here on Monday, and the team is gunning high on confidence after hammering defending champion England in the opener by nine wickets.
New Zealand’s players during a practice session ahead of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 match against Netherlands, at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, in Hyderabad. | Photo Credit: PTI
Williamson marked his return to elite cricket with a half-century against Pakistan during the World Cup warm-up game here in Hyderabad.
Playing as a specialist batter, Williamson hit a fluent 54 off 50 balls before retiring. In the second warm-up against South Africa in Thiruvananthapuram, Williamson scored a 51-ball 37 and walked back to the hut after having a decent hit.
The modern-day great missed the opening match of the ongoing World Cup against England, with Tom Latham leading the team, but has given indications that he is set to play his first World Cup match.
Williamson warms-up
As the team opened its kit bags under lights, Williamson seemed to be relaxed, getting involved in stretching drills, touching the grass often, and getting a feel of the surface.
On a quiet evening, arguably New Zealand’s greatest batsman, sporting a beard, almost went unnoticed as he flexed his muscles and moved freely, like in his city of Tauranga, knowing he wouldn’t be mobbed by officials or by the host broadcasters.
Williamson was in his zone.
He set the tone with a team huddle, a meeting that hardly lasted five minutes. While the rest of the squad returned to setting up cones for the customary football warm-up, Williamson walked towards the pitch, gently greeting the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) head curator, Y.L. Chandrasekhar.
The arena recognises Williamson, and so do the groundsmen. After all, he captained the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League 2022 season. Eight seasons of love affair in the Orange jersey mean the prolific batsman knows the kind of surface that will be dished out.
Kane Williamson in action for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League. | Photo Credit: The Hindu/K. R. Deepak
For the next 30 minutes, an animated Chandrasekhar was involved in explaining the nitty-gritty of the surface, with Williamson standing cool as ice with a smile, absorbing the data, while occasionally lifting his right leg and touching his knee.
Injuries are painful, and so is the recovery.
A march up and down the 22 yards along with the curator and Williamson doesn’t give any hint of his feelings. A further close look at the strip, and he doesn’t crouch this time. He just observes, indicating the tenderness of his knee.
At the far end, New Zealand’s latest showstopper, Rachin Ravindra, leapt to head the football in, in what his side considered a goal and sprinted across in joy.
At 23 years and 321 days old, Ravindra became the youngest to score a century on his World Cup debut.
On Monday, against the Netherlands, he would like to take another leap in securing New Zealand’s long dream of winning a World Cup, with Williamson being the Commander-in-Chief.
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