• Source:JND
Add as a preferred

New Zealand head coach Gary Stead is confident that star batter Kane Williamson will be fit for the upcoming Test series against South Africa after a hamstring injury forced him to miss matches of the five-game T20I series against Pakistan.

New Zealand are set to host South Africa in the two-match Test series, starting in Mount Maunganui on February 4. Williamson just featured in the two matches against Pakistan before picking up a hamstring injury that limited his participation in the series.

Stead confirmed that Williamson will start his training in the coming days and added that the side will give 'every chance' to the batter to be available for the selection.

ALSO READ: England Cricket Team Lands In Hyderabad Ahead Of First Test Match Against India | Watch

"I'm confident he will be alright. He's probably got another day or two before he starts back into training and it was a minor niggle, which is a good thing. So, we didn't want to aggravate it and didn't see the point of aggravating it with the important series that are ahead. He's obviously a key player and we know that and we want to make sure we've given him every chance of being available," ESPNcricinfo quoted Stead as saying.

Stead further hinted that experienced pacer Trent Boult, who is a free agent after opting out of New Zealand Cricket's central contract, is likely to return for the T20I series against Australia next month.

ALSO READ: Australia Announce Squad For ODIs Against West Indies 

"I was texting with him last [Saturday] night actually. Trent and I are going to have a conversation this week just around the future and what that looks like for him and where it fits for us as well. We're still to have those, but we will connect this week and will work out. He could be available but I'm not 100% sure," Stead said.

Boult will not feature in the Test series against South Africa due to lack of first-class and red-ball game time.

"Again I will have a conversation with Trent but at the moment, I think probably not. It's very hard to see how you come from a T20 diet back into Test consideration with no cricket before that," he added.

Stead is not taking the South Africa squad lightly despite resting many main players for the tour.

"I can assure you one thing with South Africa - the team they bring here will still have experience and they will be hardened guys who have played quite a bit of first-class cricket," Stead said.

"They will have a point to prove as well - 'Hey! we should be here' - and I think that makes them as dangerous as having a full side here. So, we certainly won't be taking them lightly. We have never beaten them in a Test series ever, so that's our challenge in front of us," he added.