New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has revealed that his hamstring is fine but elbow might still need “a little bit of time” to get back to 100%. The elbow concern has been a long-standing one for Williamson, forcing him to miss the ODI series at home against Bangladesh, the start of the first phase of IPL 2021 in India and the Edgbaston Test against England.
After leading New Zealand to World Test Championship glory, Williamson continued to manage his elbow as he withdrew from the Hundred, where he was supposed to play for the Birmingham Phoenix.
Williamson talks about his fitness problems
“The hamstring is minor, it’s progressing nicely, so not too many concerns and we’ve still got plenty of time,” Williamson said, speaking from New Zealand’s base in Dubai. “So, yeah, hopefully in the next sort of few days or so, I’m taking basically full part in the training. So, it’s all good.
“The elbow – it has just been a bit of a slow-burner. Yeah, it has been quite frustrating for a long period of time. However, it has definitely improved a bit over the last two months I’ve had after the World Test Championship. On rehab, it has definitely seemed to move forward, which is refreshing, but still a little bit of time to get back to a 100 [%], but it’s definitely better.”
Williamson disclosed that he has been feeling some discomfort while holding the bat and extending the elbow, but was happy with his overall rehab in months that followed the WTC final against India.
“Basically just gripping and then extending,” Williamson said. “So, which you do a lot of obviously [while] batting and it has been frustrating certainly when it was at its worst. But the harder you grip and further you extend, the more it seems to be quite disruptive.
Like I said there’s been a lot of improvement over the last three months, which is good. That has really been the focus and I’m at the stage where I’m largely about to get through with some comfort and it’s nice to be able to focus a bit more on the cricketing side of things rather than having constant negotiations with physios.”
Speaking about the tight schedule of last four group-stage games in the T20 World Cup under the scorching sun of UAE, Williamson said, “Recovering will be a big part of that,” Williamson said. “The temperatures are getting a little bit better and being here nice and early.
It allows the guys to acclimatise a little bit [to the conditions] and get a little bit more comfortable in these sorts of temperatures. Those day-offs after the game, especially when it’s as dense as that, will be really important so that guys can be back up and be as fresh as possible going into the following game.”
Conditions at UAE have varied a lot – Williamson
“They’ve varied a lot actually,” Williamson said. “Even a lot compared to what we experienced last summer when we had the whole tournament here [the UAE] and in previous years when we’ve played here as well. Something to be aware of; something certainly to prepare for.
We will try and make those adjustments as quickly as possible and get comfortable with what realistic expectations are and what competitive totals are because it has not unfolded in that traditional T20 style at times.
“But then we’ve had other days, in the IPL when we turned up to Abu Dhabi, the wicket looked very similar, but there was sort of an 80-run difference in what was perhaps a par total. It is really adjusting to what’s in front of you as quickly as possible and trusting in that judgement.”
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