Williamson showed in warm-up games he was more than ready to return at the batting crease, but needed more time to adjust to the rigours of fielding.
And while coach Gary Stead said fellow injury concerns Lockie Ferguson (back) and Tim Southee (thumb) should be fit to face the Dutch, Williamson was targeting the Black Caps’ third game against Bangladesh on Friday.
“Kane’s been progressing very well,” Stead said. “The fielding is still the element for him that he’s just got to get a little bit higher [to] get a little more trust in his body. But we’re pretty confident that he’ll be playing the third match.”
New Zealand hardly missed their captain against England, as 23-year-old Rachin Ravindra stepped into the No. 3 role and put together a record partnership with fellow centurion Devon Conway.
The top order will have the same construction against the Netherlands before Williamson assumes his No. 3 role and leaves the selectors to decide who between Ravindra and Will Young will open alongside Conway.
“What Devon and Rachin did was simply magnificent – the way they batted, the partnership they put together, was something pretty special that we’ll look back on in a number of years,” Stead said.
“You play against a quality side like England - to put out the performance we did was probably one of the most pleasing games I’ve ever seen in ODI cricket that we’ve played.
Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra were all smiles after their match-winning stand. Photo / Photosport
“There was a lot of talk going into the game around the strength of England, and I think the pleasing thing for us was we stuck to our guns, we played the style that we want to play and we put England under pressure in our own ways.”
That pressure was established in the first innings despite the Black Caps having only three front-line bowling options in their XI. Either Ferguson or Southee could return against the Dutch to boost the attack, joining fellow seamers Trent Boult and Matt Henry.
“Lockie Ferguson got through training really well, so providing he scrubbed up okay, he will be available for this game,” Stead said.
“Tim Southee also got through the training really well – it was great to see him back at the bowling crease and also doing a little fielding as well. He will just get a final X-ray done and we’ll make a call after that. But it’s all looking good for selection from now and into the rest of the tournament.”
The Black Caps’ prospects also look promising after their opening win, though Stead warned against underestimating the Netherlands. They reduced Pakistan to 3-38 before suffering an 81-run loss in their first match, having given an understrength New Zealand a similar scare in a 3-0 series defeat last April.
“They’re a team who have done really well the last 12 months or so, and they’ve won the qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe, so we will have to play very near our best,” Stead said.
“They’ve brought in a few players from the county scene with Dutch heritage and they’re a team who won’t go away. They’re up for every game they play, and we must prepare well and be ready to play the style of play that we want to throughout this tournament.”
Matt Henry celebrates the wicket of England's Dawid Malan. Photo / AP
History
Played four times; NZ won four, Netherlands won zero.
At an ODI World Cup: Played one time; NZ won one, Netherlands won zero.
TAB odds
Black Caps $1.04, Netherlands $10.
How to watch
Sky Sport 1 from 9pm tonight. The Herald will have ball-by-ball updates.
Herald prediction
The Black Caps by six wickets/90 runs.
Line-ups
Black Caps (likely): 1. Devon Conway, 2. Will Young, 3. Rachin Ravindra, 4. Daryl Mitchell, 5. Tom Latham (captain/wicketkeeper), 6. Glenn Phillips, 7. James Neesham, 8. Mitchell Santner, 9. Matt Henry, 10. Lockie Ferguson, 11. Trent Boult.
Netherlands (likely): 1. Vikramjit Singh, 2. Max O’Dowd, 3. Colin Ackermann, 4. Bas de Leede, 5. Teja Nidamanuru, 6. Scott Edwards (captain/wicketkeeper), 7. Saqib Zulfiqar, 8. Roelof van der Merwe, 9. Logan van Beek, 10. Aryan Dutt. 11. Paul van Meekeren.
