Kane Williamson completed an unbeaten century to guide New Zealand to a modest first day total of 240 of two in the opening Test against West Indies on Sunday.
With the IPL season set to roll on Friday, one captain who has 100 Tests under his belt is willing and ready to mentor a newbie captain who will be taking over a leadership role for the first time.
England's phenomenal success in white-ball cricket has forced rivals to consider different set of players and coaches for the limited overs game and Tests but New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson feels only a team with a big talent pool can afford to take that route.
India's middle-order mainstay Shreyas Iyer was on Tuesday nominated alongside New Zealand's Rachin Ravindra and Jacob Duffy for the ICC Player of the Month award for March following his remarkable performance in last month's Champions Trophy.
Banned spin duo Sachithra Senanayake and Kane Williamson have been cleared to bowl again after they remodelled their bowling action, the International Cricket Council said on Tuesday.
Kane Williamson became the second New Zealand batsman to score 1000 Test runs in a calendar year as the hosts built an imposing 308-run lead over Sri Lanka at the close of the third day's play of the first Test in Dunedin.
Spinner Varun Chakravarthy justified his selection with a five-wicket haul and bowled India to a 44-run victory against New Zealand.
Cricketers, current and former, shared New Zealand's pain on losing the title on boundary count with many of them asking for a "serious look" into the rule, slammed as "absurd".
Skipper Kane Williamson and fellow opener Martin Guptill forged the highest partnership in Twenty20 Internationals to secure New Zealand a series-levelling 10-wicket victory against Pakistan in the second match in Hamilton on Sunday.
A seemingly invincible India will be eager to sharpen their game against spin and give a run to second-line players ahead of the semi-final when they take on New Zealand in their last group match of the Champions Trophy in Dubai on Sunday.
Stand-in White Ferns captain Amy Satterthwaite was named the women's ODI Player of the Year, after taking some time off to have a baby and returning to the fold to score 304 runs at 38, including a top score of 119 not-out against England in Dunedin.
Durban's Super Giants claimed a dramatic two-run victory over Pretoria Capitals in their high-scoring SA20 season opener in Durban
Earlier, Devon Conway fell for 92 but Tom Latham could not be denied his century after New Zealand resumed on 165 for no loss at the National Stadium.
His side's passage to the final was in large due to the work put in both in the field and at the crease, with few players reading conditions quite like the Kiwi skipper.
Former England captain Alastair Cook believes at the "precise moment in time" the in-form Joe Root is only matched by New Zealand's Kane Williamson.
'It's not really a surprise (the rule was changed). I genuinely think that no one ever thought that was going to happen and it did'
Getting the combination right would be topmost on Sunrisers Hyderabad's to-do list when they take on a qualitatively superior Mumbai Indians in an IPL encounter in Chennai on Saturday, trying to arrest an early slide after back-to-back defeats.
Kane Williamson's assured unbeaten 70 guided New Zealand to a comfortable four-wicket win over Pakistan in the second One-Day International in Sharjah on Friday to level the series at 1-1.
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson on Thursday described his hamstring injury a 'minor' one but admitted that an elbow niggle is affecting his grip.
Skipper Kane Williamson's brilliant 97 and Matt Henry's maiden five-wicket haul gave New Zealand a comprehensive 68-run victory over Pakistan in the final one-dayer in Abu Dhabi on Friday. New Zealand won the series 3-2.
Matilda and Agnus announced New Zealand's squad for the T20 World Cup.
Rain disrupted almost all of the second day of the first Test between New Zealand and England on Friday, with the hosts managing to extend their lead to 171 runs before they were forced from the field for good ahead of the final session.
Williamson also showered praise on Umran Malik.
Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting believes South Africa has a slight edge over New Zealand in their Champions Trophy semifinal clash.
Head coach Trevor Bayliss said the reason why Kane Williamson was left out of SunRisers Hyderabad's opening match against Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday was because the New Zealand captain needs a bit of extra time to regain his match fitness.
Kane Williamson has shown that classically elegant batsmen, too, could prosper big time in the slam-bang world of Indian Premier League cricket and former Australia batsman Dean Jones wants the likes of Ajinkya Rahane and Gautam Gambhir, who have struggled in this year's IPL, to take cues from the New Zealand captain.
Hoping to be fully fit for the series-ending third and final Test against India, New Zealand captain Kane Williamson on Friday said that although the conditions have been tough his team should have put up a better show. "I am feeling better now. I am certainly very hopeful of playing on Saturday. I can say I am getting better each day," said Williamson whose viral infection-induced absence weakened the visitors' batting significantly in the second game at Kolkata.
Sunrisers Hyderabad play their next set of matches in New Delhi.
Former player Ian Smith questioned New Zealand's preparations for the T20 World Cup.
England lost opener Zak Crawley but held firm in the final hour of a pulsating day four in the second Test against New Zealand.
The 'Hydera-boggie' band features Kane Williamson, Aiden Markram, Glenn Phillips and Abdul Samad.
India's group match against New Zealand in Dubai on Sunday will be the first ICC Champions Trophy between the two teams in 25 years.
Sunrisers Eastern Cape came up with a clinical performance with both bat and ball to register a 58-run bonus victory over Durban Super Giants in the SA20 match at Kingsmead.
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson is excited to face India in the ICC World Test Championships (WTC) final next month as he considers showdowns against Virat Kohli's men to be a 'fantastic challenge'.
Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor and persistent light rain on Sunday ensured that New Zealand's second Test against England at the Basin Reserve is most likely to end in a damp draw on Monday.
A new 50-overs world champion will emerge at Lord's after what many consider will be a battle between England's deep batting lineup and New Zealand's incisive bowling attack.
Stead also revealed that former paceman Bond has been hired by his country's cricket board to "work specifically" with the national team's spinners ahead of the T20 World Cup.
Having already played their opening encounters in the ongoing cricket World Cup, it is time for New Zealand and the Netherlands to venture deep into the tournament as they face each other in Hyderabad on Monday.
Images from Friday's IPL match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad, in Abu Dhabi.
'Kane and few others from New Zealand were not feeling safe in Delhi because of the COVID situation there'
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