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New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson will not be leading his side in the ODI World Cup 2023 opener against defending champions England on October 5. However, Williamson batted in both warm-up games against Pakistan and South Africa respectively, and retired himself out.
In the first warm-up game, he scored 54 runs from 50 balls in the massive run chase of 346 at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad on September 29. On October 2, he struggled to score quickly against the Proteas bowlers. He scored 37 runs from 51 balls and retired after the 21st over of the innings.
Williamson did not show any discomfort as he walked back to the dressing room. It seemed that the move was precautionary rather than him struggling with the injury.
The 33-year-old ruptured his ACL while taking a catch in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 opener between Gujarat Titans (GT) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK). The warm-up games were crucial as the management wanted to see how his knee held up during a match.
"Just great to get through some batting out in the middle and be part of a match, which was really nice and it [knee] held up pretty well," Williamson had said after New Zealand beat Pakistan in their first warm-up game. "[It needed] a little bit of icing afterwards but it's all part of the process. Yeah, it wasn't a reality certainly five months ago and [I've] been quite fortunate with some of that recovery and to be named in the squad is really exciting for me and just really looking forward to getting out there again. It was nice to do that today.
Apart from Williamson, Devon Conway retired out as well. Conway scored 78 runs from 73 balls after Williamson won the toss and opted to bat first at Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram.
In Williamson's absence, Tom Latham will lead the side against Jos Buttler's England at Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium, Ahmedabad. New Zealand will practically go into the World Cup opener with a 13-member squad as their veteran pacer Tim Southee is injured as well.
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