There is a big possibility that New Zealand Test skipper Kane Williamson will miss a few games as he might be off on paternity leave. His wife Sarah Raheem is expected to give birth to their first child later this month. New Zealand head coach Gary Stead is completely fine with it as he feels ‘sometimes, other things are much more important in life’.
“Worst case scenario, Kane misses some matches. As a dad, as a parent, you only get that opportunity once in your life to be there for your (first) child’s birth and I know that it’s important for Kane too. At the end of the day, we play cricket, and other things are much more important. And that is much more important,” New Zealand’s head coach Gary Stead was quoted as saying after his team’s commanding innings victory over West Indies in the first Test.
The Kiwis absolutely thrashed West Indies in the first Test at Seddon Park in Hamilton. They rode on Kane Williamson’s Test-best 251 and a collective performance from the bowlers to blow away West Indies by an innings and 134 runs.
The second Test is scheduled to start on the 11th of December at the Basin Reserve in Wellington. Soon after the West Indies series ends, New Zealand are to face Pakistan in three T20Is and two Test matches. The T20I series kicks off at the Eden Park in Auckland on the 18th of December. The Seddon Park in Hamilton and the McLean Park in Napier are scheduled to host the second and third T20Is on the 20th and 22nd December respectively. The Test series will start on Boxing Day at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui before the tour wraps up with the New Year’s Test at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch.
Thus, there is a possibility that Williamson will miss a few of those games. Moreover, according to Stead, Will Young, who made his Test and international debut in the first Test against West Indies, will be a natural replacement.
Stead was also impressed with the way New Zealand responded after losing the toss. They were patient and bided their time at the crease before piling on the runs. The New Zealand head coach termed the entire performance as ‘clinical’.
“(It was) a very clinical performance throughout, when you lose the toss and get inserted… there’s always a few nerves about how much the wicket will do. I thought the pitch played really well throughout – it kept good bounce throughout and that was pleasing for us,” Stead was further quoted as saying.