Walter said that discussions are currently ongoing regarding Kane Williamson’s availability for this home summer. “So we haven’t made a concrete decision; it should really involve giving Kane the freedom and option to decide when he will be available for New Zealand playing commitments.” Williamson currently holds a casual contract from NZC; he opted not to participate in the recently concluded three-match T20 International series against Australia; he had earlier also opted out of the Zimbabwe tour to play some county cricket and participate in The Hundred in England.
Following this, New Zealand’s home season will host another limited-overs series against England, and in November, the West Indies arrive for another all-format tour. “With Kane, we’re still in conversations as to what the summer is going to look like. He will play, no doubt about that. Just what and where is still in discussion.
“I think the reality is we’re dealing with all the guys on casual contracts, actually in different positions from a playing point of view. Kane is one of those (who deserves time) and he deserves the opportunity to sit and talk about what the rest of his year will look like.
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“But I keep coming back to the most important thing, (which) is that he wants to play for his country, and so nutting out exactly what that looks like can take an extra week or two, but surely, he deserves that,” Walter told reporters on Monday.
Walter also confirmed that New Zealand will remain without Finn Allen (foot), Adam Milne (ankle) for the upcoming white-ball series against England, beginning on October 18 in Christchurch.
In terms of his white-ball captain, he was more optimistic about the availability of Mitchell Santner, who will in the next few days be free from groin pains, and of Rachin Ravindra, who had to be withdrawn at the last minute from the T20Is against Australia after sustaining a facial injury during training post colliding with the boundary boards.
“I think we don’t live in an ideal world and so that’s part and parcel of it. I’ve been part of a World Cup campaign (with South Africa) where the team assembled at its full strength three days before our first game and that team managed to make a final.
“For me, it’s just the way it works. I think what’s more important is the environment and the team culture that sort of assimilates together when it needs to. We do know that by the back end of the India series (in January) prior to the World Cup, that’s when our full World Cup squad will be together.
“For me, as long as the guys are playing competitive cricket, that’s important, and almost everyone has been part of the environment at some point so I would assume that they can fit seamlessly back into it,” he added.
