Image courtesy of: Zimbio
Williamson is set to make his Test comeback
New Zealand batsman Kane Williamson is likely to be recalled for the second Test against the West Indies, which gets underway tomorrow in Wellington.
Williamson was sidelined for the first Test in Dunedin, which ended as a draw, after he failed to sufficiently recover from a fractured thumb he sustained during the first ODI against Bangladesh in October.
Williamson will likely replace Aaron Redmond, who could only amass scores of 20 and six in his first Test match after five years.
New Zealand are also considering replacing spinner Ish Sodhi with fast bowler Doug Bracewell since the wicket in Wellington is expected to be more pace-friendly.
New Zealand head coach Mike Hesson is also confident his side can end their winless drought, which has gone on for nearly a year now.
“We’re getting ourselves into position to win Tests,” Hesson said. “Twenty more minutes in Dunedin and we’d have had a Test win.
“I think the team’s starting to turn a corner in terms of our method and how we play and, sure, we’d love the wins.”
Meanwhile, West Indies captain Darren Sammy has revealed that he may include spinner Sunil Narine in the side in order to limit the workload of Shane Shillingford.
“Their bowlers toiled and that’s a lot of yards in the legs,” Sammy said. “I guess my bowlers will be much fresher than their bowlers so hopefully we can go into the second Test and they’ll be a bit tired and we will be a fresher team.”