Kane Williamson picked for West Indies tour despite thumb injury
New Zealand selectors said they believed a broken thumb Williamson sustained in Bangladesh in October will be healed enough for him to take the field for the first Test in Dunedin on Tuesday.
- Agence France-Presse
- Updated: November 29, 2013 11:45 AM IST
New Zealand on Friday, named batsman Kane Williamson in a 13-man Test squad to face the West Indies, despite a hand injury sidelining him for more than a month.
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Black Caps selectors said they believed a broken thumb Williamson sustained in Bangladesh in October will be healed enough for him to take the field for the First Test in Dunedin on Tuesday.
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"Kane has been in the nets batting and bowling and getting his intensity levels up," selection manager Bruce Edgar said. "We're confident he should be right, come Tuesday."
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But Edgar said Aaron Redmond, who has not played a Test for five years, was included in the squad as cover in case the gamble did not pay off and Williamson was unable to play.
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Paceman Tim Southee also returns to the Test arena after ankle surgery, while leg-spinner Ish Sodhi and all-rounder Corey Anderson both have the chance to make their Test debuts.
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Sodhi replaces 32-year-old off-spinner Bruce Martin, who has failed to fire since earning his first Test cap last year.
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Veteran spinner Daniel Vettori ruled himself out of the squad this week as he battles a long-term Achilles problem and troubled batsman Jesse Ryder's hopes of an international return stalled last week when he was injured in a domestic match.
New Zealand:
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Brendon McCullum (captain), Corey Anderson, Trent Boult, Doug Bracewell, Peter Fulton, Aaron Redmond, Hamish Rutherford, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, BJ Watling, Kane Williamson.