News about Kane Williamson

Since losing by 4-1 in India, England vice-captain Ollie Pope has pledged more faith in his defensive strategy. England came from behind to win at Hyderabad, and Pope began the series with a hall of fame 196. However, despite allegations that he looked tense, his form deserted him: his remaining eight innings saw only 118 runs, including a pair at Ranchi.

Smith only played 25 runs before Matt Henry trapped him LBW at Hagley Oval. The call was dispatched immediately, but DRS didn't save him and he was sent packing. Over the two Test matches this season, Smith has averaged 12.75, with Smith promoted to the top of the order in place of the former David Warner.

The Australian Test side's tail is wagging against New Zealand but could they be left to rue crucial runs that went begging because the batsmen decided to stop and have a chat instead?

Australia has had three rain delays on their way to a clean sweep of their T20I series with New Zealand, winning by 27 runs in Auckland. However, former skipper Steve Smith suffered another setback on Sunday when he tried to make the team for the T20 World Cup in June, failing to produce once more. In an innings interrupted twice by Auckland showers, Australia's 4-118 from 10.4 overs.

OLIVER HOLT: Following England's thrilling Rugby World Cup quarter-final victory over Fiji - England and 'thrilling' have not been discussed in the same breath recently, a few of us took the Marseille metro for a few stops and discovered a pizzeria in Notre Dame du Mont, which was playing the France-South Africa game. The game was being played in France and South Africa at the majority of venues. Bars, sushi restaurants, Thai restaurants, and kebab shops can be found in Thailand. People were milling around outside bars or eating at tables, their gazes fixed on the television screens that seemed to have been installed in every doorway and every establishment. One of the major tournaments is to experience it's intoxication and the sense of belonging and unity it brings. I still remember Euro 96 and the red and white crosses of St George, flying and flapping from car windows everywhere you went.

ExklusIVE BY RICHARD GIBSON: Dawid Malan is ripping up the final two years of his Yorkshire contract in an attempt to prolong his England service. Malan, 36, was only extending his contract at Headingley until 2025 last October, but it seems he has changed the terms to white ball only in a sign that indicates he has abandoned his intention of adding to his 22 Test caps. Rather, the man who won the England World Cup centurion with 140 against Bangladesh last week will concentrate on playing Twenty20 for Yorkshire in the Hundred, franchise tournaments around the world and in other international formats.

BOOTH (British): Kane Williamson, the captain of New Zealand, sustained a new injury blow after his left thumb was fractured by a stray throw during his team's eight-wicket victory over Bangladesh in Chennai. He was playing his first game for seven months after recovering from a torn cruciate ligament injury, but he was struck on the glove at the attempted run-out. He retired from New Zealand's quest for 246, but an undisplaced fracture was revealed on X-ray. He now faces time in order to recover for the World Cup's later stages. Matt Blundell, a Wicketkeeper-batsman, has been called up as a reserve.

NASSER HUSSAIN: This was an absolute walloping. There was no hiding place for England; they were just second best, and they can't blame the weather; the bulk of this battering took place before either team's concerns of bowling first came down. Credit must go to New Zealand. They weren't only missing their captain Kane Williamson and Tim Southee with their broken thumb in England, but they also lost Lockie Ferguson in the build-up to the game with a tense back.

AHMEDABAD (LA): Despite a new injury cloud descending on Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler goes into Wednesday's World Cup opener against New Zealand aspires of 'creating something new' as England looks to win their third global trophy in four years. During an evening training session at Narendra Modi Stadium on Wednesday, England's star all-rounder cut a peripheral figure, despite having a niggle in his left hip that could prevent him from participating in the competition curtain-raiser and raises concerns about his readiness for the remainder of his title defense. With each team facing nine group matches each before the semi-finals begin on November 15, Buttler said that now was "not the time to take big risks on someone at the start of the tournament." Harry Brook, a late replacement for the injured Jason Roy, is expected to make his World Cup debut this weekend.

BOOTH's BOOTH: Ben Stokes could miss England's World Cup opener against New Zealand in Ahmedabad tomorrow due to a hip injury, affording Harry Brook a great chance to make a difference on their title defense. England needs to see how Stokes recovered from today's training session, which begins at 6 p.m. BST), but Jos Buttler said that it was not the right time to put a stake on a player's health. Stokes sat out England's warm-up victory over Bangladesh in Guwahati on Monday, and Buttler's announcement today that he had been working on a "niggle" with the England physios.

Kane Williamson, the New Zealand captain, will miss the repeat battle of the eponymous 2019 Lord's final against England, which starts the World Cup next Thursday. Williamson demonstrated that he is on target to return soon by defeating Pakistan in a warm-up match on Friday, but that he is still not prepared for the rigours of fielding in an international match. When the 33-year-old ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in April, it was feared he would miss the entire tournament. However, he retired after hitting 54 off 50 balls against the Pakistanis, and he will now focus on his fitness regimen. Gary Stead, a New Zealand coach, said: "We'll continue to take a day-by-day approach to Kane's recovery, and we'll certainly not be putting any pressure on him to return before he's ready."

Ben Stokes may have been forgiven for sticking his feet up following an epic Ashes sequence, but this is not how this remarkable cricketer operates. Not a week into his one-day return, but he spanked New Zealand for 182 - the highest score by an England player in 782 one-day internationals dating back 52 years. In 124 balls of mayhem, handshakes from the fielders, and a standing ovation from an appreciative crowd, there were 15 fours and nine sixes, as well as a standing ovation from an appreciative audience. Above all, Stokes was ominous for opponents, and they may have been sent to assist England in defending their title in India. It's odd to think he never reached 102 years old.

NASSER HUSSAIN: On the occasion of his 100th Test cap, Steve Smith will be ranked as the second best since Sir Donald Bradman. Shane Warne's death was the first to have such a stellar statistic record. When I decide how good a player someone is, I investigate whether they can do well in any environment around the world. Smith can. He has been superb in his average 55.6 worldwide, a mark eight-and-a-half runs ahead of Joe Root's, but much better than Kane Williamson (45.91) and Virat Kohli (41.28).

The Black Caps advanced to the final after needing seven runs and with three wickets remaining. Matt Henry was kicked out of the third ball, but Williamson had a four off the fourth to tie the scores. There was no score off the next ball, but Williamson, although Williamson missed his pull attempt at the final ball, he hurled himself towards the non-striker's end and got his bat over the line just before the ball struck the stumps to win by a two-wicket victory. On the day, rain had beenhed out the morning, with the Black Caps starting the day on 28 for one and needing 285.

With a Stateside stop-off on England's tour of New Zealand, Harry Brook has ditched Bazball for baseball and runs for home runs. Brook, 24, made Test history by scoring more often in his first nine innings (809) than any other player and reaching 20 sixes along the way. And this weekend, he will put his big-hitting skills to the test at a St Louis Cardinals camp in Florida as part of a new ambassador for Major League Baseball Europe. 'I'm intrigued to see how different it is to cricket and what similarities there are too - will a home run feel as good as hitting a six?!

PAUL NEWMAN IN WELLINGTON: England lost one of the most exciting Tests of all time on Tuesday morning when Jimmy Anderson was dismissed with just two runs needed for victory. To win New Zealand, two needed Anderson, who had smashed a four off Neil Wagner's previous over, had the faintest of tickles down the legside off the left armer's safe hands of Tom Blundell. England lost their historic seventh straight Test victory, and it was also the first time they've lost after asking others to follow along.

PAUL NEWMAN IN WELLINGTON (left) Harry Brook (right) has a long and glittering career with the bat. What had not been expected was that he might be England's saviour with the ball. On the fourth day of this final Test, England screamed like desperation, when they were used to Brook. Kane Williamson was born in the United States' 26th Test century and, in the process, became the leading run-scoper in New Zealand history. For five, the Black Caps had cruised to 455 for five, with Williamson and 158 with Tom Blundell to smear England into the dust and raise what seemed to be valid concerns over Stokes' decision to force the follow-on. So, what happens?

The Black Caps put up a slew of resistance to reach 202 for three runs in their third innings, 24 behind after being asked to follow Ben Stokes. Robinson, on the other hand, pounded Nicholls' outside edge and clipped it after 35 minutes of the first session. The catch was attempted at third slip but Harry Brooks juggled it, but England was still ahead by four runs. Kane Williamson had overtaken Ross Taylor as his country's best Test run-scorer earlier this week, clipping a boundary off James Anderson in the first over the day.

Kane Williamson has stepped down as New Zealand Test captain, but the Black Caps will still lead the team in white-ball cricket. Tim Southee, a veteran fast bowler, will replace Williamson in the role, bringing an end to the batter's six-year tenure as the Test team's captain. Southee, who has worked on 22 occasions, will cap the team for the first time on this month's Test tour of Pakistan.

The Black Caps' 35-run victory in Adelaide likely puts them at the top of their Super 12s league, though England and Australia are yet to meet their seven points. Only in those Australia-Afghanistan and England-Sri Lanka victories on Saturday could have deprived New Zealand of a spot in the last four, but Ireland administered a test.

NASSER HUSSAIN: England's victory over New Zealand on Tuesday kept them right in the World Cup hunt, and was Jos Buttler's most complete performance as captain. It was his 100th T20 international and it couldn't have gone any better. Buttler and England's key in this tournament is to react to what is in front of them, not what has happened in previous games. At the Gabba, Andtler was spot-on. They went from Perth, where they defeated Afghanistan, to Melbourne, where they lost to Ireland, because they didn't respond quickly enough. What worked in Perth did not work in Melbourne, but when Buttler arrived in Brisbane, he noticed a battered pitch and decided to bat first.

BRISBANE is a republic in the United Kingdom. Jos Buttler has been hesitant to come out of Eoin Morgan's looming shadow, but there are signals here at the Gabba that he is now a member of the team himself. Buttler was able to bat first against New Zealand on a used pitch when so much of their Morgan-led white-ball triumph came from chasing. An England captain who wanted to lead from the front was given a gem of an innings by an England captain who had to demonstrate that he could lead from the front, despite two poor, decisive dropped catches.

As England held their T20 World Cup hopes alive, New Zealand captain Kane Williamson admitted that his team contributed to their own demise by twice sacking Jos Buttler twice. England's 20-run triumph at the Gabba shocked New Zealand's first loss of the season and boosted their hopes of advancing to a semi-final position. Buttler was dropped by Williamson, who mistakenly thought he'd discarded his diving catch before replays revealed it had bounced loose, and then Daryl Mitchell, who won by 73 runs off 47 balls, beating England to 179 for six.

MOEEN ALI: It's simple for us now. We've got to win all of our games. Our attitude is simple: We're all told that if we win four games, we will win the World Cup. This week, two games are available this week and two more next week. That's it. We know what we need to do. We've got all the knowledge we need. We now have to go out there, hope the weather is good, and play how we can.