Right track: Williamson is expected to be match ready soon.
| Photo Credit: RAGU R
New Zealand bowling coach Shane Jurgensen was pleased with skipper Kane Williamson’s progress ahead of the team’s match against Bangladesh on Friday.
Williamson, who is recovering from an ACL knee injury, missed the first two games of the World Cup — against England and The Netherlands — as he wasn’t match ready.
On Wednesday, the 33-year-old batted for nearly an hour in the nets at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium. Williamson started by taking some throwdowns before having a session facing pacers Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry and James Neesham, and the spinners.
“He is coming along nicely and is taking full training today, and he keeps improving and progressing every day,” said Jurgensen.
“He is putting himself in a situation to be able to play, but we still got another day. We are excited about that but we need to see how he goes over in the next 24 hours… (he will) probably have another batting stint and a fielding session on Thursday,” he added.
“Kane is hitting the ball beautifully and has for a little while now. So, for him, in terms of skills (there is) no doubt. He has been a very good player for New Zealand for a long time. Those attributes he is showing again in the nets,” said the New Zealand bowling coach.
Williamson’s availability could give the two-time finalist a big boost ahead of matches here against Bangladesh and Afghanistan — teams with quality spinners in their ranks on a surface that aids the tweakers.
Jurgensen knows a thing or two about Bangladesh, having been its head coach.
“Bangladesh has proven to be a challenging team in world tournaments in particular. And we have had some tough games against them in the past, both home and away. So there is no doubt this will be a tough game for us. The progress of their seam attack to support the spinners is something we have watched closely,” said the 47-year-old Australian.
“We knew these games were going to be tough. For us, an advantage is that we have many players who have played in the IPL and for Chennai Super Kings.
“We had some good experience playing in the sub-continent leading into the tournament. I think we have given ourselves every opportunity to prepare the best we can,” said Jurgensen.
