Williamson said that both of them have known each other for a long time as called him as 'a mate'.
Australia opener David Warner laughed off concerns about his form on his 35th birthday on Wednesday but said he had reverted to practising on synthetic wickets and polished concrete to sharpen his batting at the Twenty20 World Cup.
West Indies quick Oshane Thomas has said he hopes to make his Test debut in England next month and establish himself in all three cricket formats. Thomas has been named among 11 reserves to accompany the 14-member squad for their three-Test series in England, which is scheduled to take place in bio-secure venues in Southampton and Manchester, subject to government approval.
India's 15-member squad for the ICC World Cup will be selected on April 15 in Mumbai.
In the recent intra-squad match simulation in Southampton, he struck an impressive 85 which eventually earned him a place in the 15-man Indian squad for the final and almost guaranteed his position as the opener.
Joe Root's wife Carrie is due to give birth to their second child in early July and the top order batsman said he is in discussions over whether he would be able to leave the on-site hotel and return to the bio-secure venue.
New Zealand are coming into the match well-prepared, following their 1-0 series-win over hosts England but for Paine, it won't count for much as he believes the win came against a depleted home side.
Both bowlers had contracted the dreaded virus during the currently-suspended IPL earlier this month.
India and New Zealand will battle it out for the prestigious title at Southampton on June 18.
ICC acting CEO Geoff Allardice said that would be possible only 'in a perfect world'.
Suryakumar Yadav smashed a magnificent century but England held their nerve in a high-scoring thriller to win the third and final T20I by 17 runs and avoid the series sweep, in Nottingham, in Sunday.
A combination of robust vaccination programmes and strict physical distancing rules may be enough to prevent recurring peaks of COVID-19 without greatly restricting the mobility of people, according to a modelling study.
Chelsea beat Manchester City 1-0 on Saturday to book a place in next month's FA Cup final, thanks to a second-half goal by Hakim Ziyech which ended City manager Pep Guardiola's dream of steering his side to an unprecedented quadruple of titles.
After a 117-day absence, international cricket returned in familiar fashion on Wednesday as rain and bad light restricted the first Test between England and West Indies to 17.4 overs and the hosts closed a frustrating day on 35-1.
Images from Day 2 of the ICC World Test Championship Final between India and New Zealand, at The Hampshire Bowl, in Southampton, on Saturday.
'You have to be careful how you use an advantage because, with Root not being there, you have some youngster who wants to make a name for himself.'
Rishi Sunak, the former UK chancellor of the exchequer, on Friday formally launched his leadership bid to succeed Boris Johnson as the new Conservative Party leader and future British prime minister.
Former players Irfan Pathan and Parthiv Patel believe pace bowler Mohammed Shami will the hold the key for India with the ball in the upcoming ICC World Test Championship against New Zealand.
Australian batsmen David Warner and Steve Smith were booed and heckled by the crowd in their warm-up game against England in Southampton on Saturday.
India and New Zealand will lock horns in the finals of WTC at the Ageas Bowl, Southampton
Play was abandoned without a ball being bowled on the third day of the second Test between England and the West Indies as rain fell persistently over Old Trafford on Saturday.
Kapil Dev said that playing in English conditions will be challenging and Pant needs to spend more time in the middle
England pacer Jofra Archer was on Thursday cleared to join his teammates at Southampton's Ageas Bowl ahead of the three-Test series against West Indies after he tested negative for COVID-19 for the second time. The 25-year-old Archer did not join the team's training earlier after a member of his household fell ill. He had tested negative for COVID-19 the first time too, but as a precautionary measure he went through another test ahead of joining his England teammates.
Shastri has been serving as the head coach of the Indian team since 2017, having got an extension after the 2019 ICC World Cup.
Fabinho's first-half goal earned Liverpool a 1-0 win at Burnley
Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes fired home a late penalty to rescue a point for the visitors in a lively 1-1 draw at Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Friday.
Shubman's stress fracture in shin could take minimum two months to heal
New Zealand's cricketers, including skipper Kane Williamson, who are quarantining in Maldives after the suspension of IPL 2021 last week might head to England this weekend for an upcoming two-Test series, head coach Gary Stead said.
United are 16th in the standings with a game in hand heading into the international break.
Sachin Tendulkar leads the cricket world to hail New Zealand's triumph.
India are leading by 32 runs with eight wickets in hand, going into the final day of the title clash.
Bumrah said his controlled aggression has done wonders to his run as an international cricketer.
England produced a brilliant comeback to beat Australia by two runs on the final ball of their first T20 international in Southampton on Friday after the visitors looked to be cruising to victory in their first competitive match for six months.
Trent Boult, who has played 73 Test for New Zealand, said he expects a bit of banter between the rival players since they are all familiar with each other due to the Indian Premier League.
A summary of Saturday's matches in the FA Cup.
The defender later became the club's assistant coach before embarking on an eventful career as a head coach, managing Dutch sides Ajax Amsterdam, PSV Eindhoven and Feyenoord plus Premier League sides Southampton and Everton and La Liga's Valencia.
IMAGES from Day 5 of the 3rd and final Test played between England and Pakistan played at the Rose Bowl on Tuesday.
Liverpool took over at the top of the Premier League table despite being held to a 0-0 draw against Manchester United in a scrappy match on Sunday.
IMAGES from the English Premier League matches played on Sunday
On a seismic day in the history of Chelsea, Romelu Lukaku scored the winning goal in a 3-2 FA Cup fifth-round victory
