Former New Zealand captain Kane Williamson missed out on the recent T20I series against Australia despite being part of the NZC casual contracts.
New Zealand faced Australia recently in a three-match home T20I series and lost it 2-0, with one game getting washed out. Aussie skipper Mitchell Marsh was in brilliant form as he slammed 197 runs in the series, including the 85 and an unbeaten 103 in the second and first and third T20Is.
With Aussies unleashing their power, it would have taken something extraordinary for even Williamson to turn the tide. The former skipper missed the series, and there is still no clarity whether he will return to the national setup ahead of New Zealand's home white-ball series against England that starts from October 18.
New Zealand coach content with Williamson taking time
Head coach Rob Walter is content to allow Williamson to take his time before his national comeback. "Kane, we're still in conversations as to what the summer is going to look like," Walter told the media after the Australia series. "He will play, no doubt about that. Just what and where is still in discussion.
"I think the reality is we're dealing with all the guys on casual contracts, actually, in different positions from a playing point of view. Kane is one of those, and he deserves the opportunity to sit and talk about what the rest of his year will look like. But I keep coming back to the most important thing, which is that he wants to play for his country, and so nothing out exactly what that looks like can take an extra week or two, but surely, he deserves that."
What is New Zealand casual contract?
New Zealand cricket offered casual contracts to a group of players who opted out of the central contracts. Williamson, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Tim Seifert and Finn Allen are part of the causal agreements.
The agreement will offer flexibility to the group of New Zealand players who are part of the casual contracts. It allows those players to play franchise cricket regularly, but on the condition that they would be available for national duty for occasional major series and global tournaments.
"To be eligible for the casual playing agreement, the players were required to commit themselves to the BLACKCAPS upcoming ICC T20 World Cup campaign, including being available for a specified number of series and games in the build-up to the tournament in India in February and March," a statement from New Zealand Cricket read.
