Kane Williamson To Return For New Zealand In England ODI Series After Medical Break

Kane Williamson and Nathan Smith made their return to New Zealand’s ODI squad for the upcoming three-match series against England, starting October 26 in Tauranga.

Kane Williamson will return to action for New Zealand in the three-match ODI series against England, beginning October 26 at Bay Oval in Tauranga, his home ground. The 35-year-old batter missed the ongoing T20I series due to an unspecified “minor medical issue” that kept him out for the past month.

Williamson is among a group of players with casual contracts with New Zealand Cricket (NZC). He had earlier opted out of the three-match T20I series against Australia and skipped the Zimbabwe tour to play county cricket and The Hundred for Middlesex. More recently, he took on a new role as the strategic advisor for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the IPL.

Allrounder Nathan Smith has also returned to the New Zealand squad after completing rehabilitation for an abdominal injury he suffered during the first Test against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo in August. The 27-year-old has not played any competitive cricket since then.

New Zealand head coach Rob Walter expressed his delight at having both Williamson and Smith back in the national setup. For Williamson, this will be his first international appearance since the Champions Trophy final in Dubai earlier this year. Smith also featured in that match as a last-minute replacement for Matt Henry, who was injured at the time.

“Kane and Nathan have had to work hard to overcome their respective injuries and illness,” Walter said in a statement. “We all know what Kane means to the Blackcaps – to have his skill, experience and leadership back in the group is fantastic. Nathan’s still relatively new to his international career, but he’s impressed with his all-round skills and ability in the field.”

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Santner To Lead Side

Having completed his rehab, Smith has declared himself fully fit and ready for New Zealand’s summer. “Yeah, always exciting when you get the opportunity to play for New Zealand in any series. The last period from that [Bulawayo] Test to now has looked like a bit of rest initially. And then after a couple of weeks, you can sort of start to get moving again and strengthen the ab back-ups. Since the start of September, I’ve been ripping into some rehab and building the bowling loads back up. It’s just been a really good period to get some strength in and build some training back up for a busy season,” Smith said.

Mitchell Santner will continue to lead the ODI team after captaining them to the Champions Trophy final. Having recovered from an abdominal injury, Santner is currently part of the ongoing T20I series against England.

Last Updated on October 20, 2025