Stead fully supportive of Williamson missing few matches for birth of his first child

With Kane Williamson and his partner Sarah Raheem expecting the birth of their first child, the New Zealand skipper might miss a few games this summer. While his absence will be a significant blow for the Kiwis, Gary Stead is fully supportive of the decision.

With international cricket resuming in New Zealand in late November, the Kiwi nation have a chance to go to the top of the points table in the ICC Test Championship but just like Virat Kohli for India, Williamson will also miss a few matches in their home summer.

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In the first Test in Seddon Park, Williamson was at his best, scoring a fluent 251 in New Zealand’s win over West Indies. The knock also propelled him to the joint-second position in the Test Rankings alongside Virat Kohli but during the press conference in one of the Tests, the 30-year-old revealed that his partner was due to give birth in “mid-to-late December”.

Stead backs Williamson

He didn’t make any confirmation about the exact timing of when he would miss any match, but coach Gary Stead stated that he is absolutely fine whenever the skipper decides to give the home summer a miss.

“Worst case scenario, Kane misses some matches. As a dad, as a parent, you only get that opportunity once in your life to be there for your (first) child’s birth and I know that it’s important for Kane too. At the end of the day, we play cricket, and other things are much more important. And that is much more important,” Stead told on Monday.

Now Will Young, who made his Test debut in Hamilton, is touted as Williamson’s replacement while BJ Watling is recovering fast from his hamstring issue.