Daily Times

AUCKLAND: Tim Southee could come into consideration for New Zealand’s ODI World Cup captaincy as well as Tom Latham who has recently had the role in the absence of the injured Kane Williamson. Although Williamson has begun rehab following surgery on the ACL injury he sustained in the IPL he is still considered unlikely to make the World Cup in October. Latham has been the regular stand-in when Williamson has been absent in recent years and was in charge for both legs in Pakistan where the T20Is were shared 2-2 and the home side claimed the ODIs 4-1.

Southee, who is New Zealand’s Test captain, was one of the players unavailable for that tour due to involvement in the IPL. “That’s something that still needs to be worked out,” New Zealand coach Gary Stead said of the World Cup job. “Tim is captaining the Test team as well. Tom has had plenty of white-ball experience for us in the past. Thought he captained really well in Pakistan with a number of guys he didn’t know much about and that’s always a challenge.”

Should Williamson not make the tournament there will also be a key batting slot to fill at No. 3. Devon Conway and Finn Allen were two other top-order batters at the IPL. Meanwhile in Pakistan, Daryl Mitchell had an excellent ODI series with two centuries while Will Young also averaged 48, although Stead said no decisions had been made about who would fill the position moving forward. “Every opportunity Daryl gets in a number of different positions he keeps putting his hand up. He’s shown his value to the team overall,” Stead told reporters in Auckland. “[Will’s] had a really good start to his international career, especially the white-ball game, and he’s had some of the Associate teams where he’s scored big runs but it was really pleasing to see how he went against what is a real quality attack when you think of Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Shadab Khan.”

Stead indicated that it remained the case that “11 or 12” of the World Cup squad were likely locked in with those remaining positions still requiring some discussion. The schedule for the tournament is yet to be confirmed — and will likely only come out after the IPL — with Stead adding that where they play certain teams may have a bearing on the final selections. He was hopeful that Kyle Jamieson, who is recovering from back surgery, will be in the frame.

“We’ve got three months before we need to land this so have time on our side,” he said. “We still haven’t got a World Cup draw yet, we don’t know where we are playing so it’s pretty hard to nail everything down until we get those things in place.” Stead’s own contract is also up after the World Cup and a decision on his future is likely to be made before the tournament. New Zealand now have a lengthy break from international cricket before next coming together for a limited-overs tour of England in September.