Egbaston: New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has been ruled out of the 2nd Test between England and New Zealand. In the absence of Williamson, Tom Latham would be NZ's captain for the 2nd Test match against England. Although, the New Zealand coach said that Williamson will be fit to play the World Test Championship Final against Indian on June 18.
"It's not an easy decision for Kane to have to miss a Test, but we think it's the right one," Gary Stead, New Zealand's head coach, said. "He's had an injection in his elbow to relieve the irritation he's been experiencing when he bats and a period of rest and rehabilitation will help maximise his recovery."
The coach said that Williamson is being rested keeping in focus the WTC final. "The decision has been made very much with the ICC World Test Championship final at Southampton in mind and we are confident he will be ready for that match," Stead added.
NZ standby captain, Tom Latham said that Wiliamson has a very important plce in the side and he will be back soon. "I'm sure he'll be back [for the final]. From our point of view, it's a precautionary thing. We'd love him to be available for this game but obviously we've got the eye on the final in a week's time, so for Kane, it's about giving himself the best opportunity to be fully fit and available for that game. The decision was made for him to rest and get that right for what we have coming up," said Latham.
"He's fantastic as a captain. It's well-documented how his personality and his calm nature out in the middle has been vital to this group. He's very relaxed - doesn't get too high, doesn't get too low which I think has been great for this side in recent years. He's obviously a wonderful leader and we've seen that throughout his captaincy career," Tom Latham concluded.