Veteran New Zealand batsman Kane Williamson has said discussions about his availability for the rest of the home summer are ongoing as he prepares to return to international cricket for the ODI series against England. Williamson, currently on a casual contract with New Zealand Cricket (NZC), missed the recent T20I series against Australia and the Zimbabwe tour to focus on county cricket and The Hundred. Speaking in a video shared by NZC on Friday, he emphasized the importance of balancing cricket with family commitments. “As your life situation changes as mine has and incredibly grateful as well for that with three young children and the balance between where you spend your time and give your attention is really, really important to me. So still being able to play for New Zealand and play the sport that I love at the highest level is great, but the balance is the most important thing for me,” Williamson said. He also reaffirmed his passion for the game and his desire to contribute to the team. “I still love the game, and have a strong desire to get better and train hard and offer whatever I can for the team and that’s really important to me – as a young player or as a school kid that was always the thing was you just worked hard on your game, you always tried to get better and that’s kind of not changed.” Williamson noted that he is taking a measured approach to his cricketing future rather than looking too far ahead, mentioning the ODI World Cup in 2027 as the point of reference.“Not (looking) too far ahead I mean I guess back in my mind is there’s probably the ODI World Cup and there’s always other things, Test cricket is pretty dear to me as well so really it’s a little bit about what I want and a little bit more about what the team wants and where it’s going and what we’re sort of buying into,” he said. He described the importance of keeping communication open with New Zealand Cricket and the coaching staff. “Just sort of keeping those lines of communication open to make sure that we’re nice and focused and clear on what it looks like. But also sort of being really respectful of the fact that this is a team in a special place and they’re always trying to build towards something. So for me in this phase of my career it’s if I’m there and able to add to it, brilliant., Williamson also welcomed the leadership of Mitchell Santner and Tom Latham in white-ball and red-ball formats, describing both as experienced and organized.
Poll
Do you think Kane Williamson’s focus on family commitments will positively impact his performance in international cricket?
“So for them to be in leadership roles is no surprise… Now it has been for a year or so and he’s doing a fantastic job and incredibly organized and passionate about the group and about Test cricket so it’s great that he’s sort of at the helm running the team now too,” he said. The 35-year-old is looking forward to getting back into training and contributing to New Zealand’s ODI campaign, while maintaining the balance between cricket and family life.
