Kane Williamson will join up with New Zealand’s squad in England in the coming days, following the birth of his second child with his wife Sarah Raheem.
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Williamson left the Indian Premier League early to come home for the birth of his child, and he will now join the Black Caps in England ahead of the first test on June 2 at Lord’s.
After their IPL clubs failed to enter the playoffs, batsman Devon Conway and seamer Tim Southee have already joined the squad.
On the eve of the second tour match against a Counties XI squad in Essex, Williamson, fast bowler Neil Wagner, and batsman Daryl Mitchell are set to arrive on Wednesday.
The opening two days of the match against Sussex were washed off, but stand-in skipper Tom Latham was pleased to score half-centuries with three teammates.
“I think it was a really valuable couple of days for us here, especially from a bowling point of view — that competitive nature of bowling in a game rather than in the nets — and I think the batsmen got that as well from the match intensity,” he said.
Ollie Robinson was included in the 12-man Counties team, giving the England paceman an opportunity to shine ahead of the Lord’s opener.
Since a back spasm in the fifth Ashes tests in Hobart in January, Robinson has struggled.
In March, he had another back spasm while warming up in the Caribbean, and he missed the entire three-test series against the West Indies.
Dom Sibley, who hasn’t played in a Test since last year’s home series against India, has been called up to the Counties squad.
