World Cup: Kane Williamson closes in on full fitness

CHENNAI: Kane Williamson has fought a battle against time to be fit for the World Cup after an injury that he sustained during the IPL in April. And now it seems that New Zealand skipper is close to making a comeback into the playing XI, after missing the first two against England and Netherlands that the Kiwis won quite easily.

On Wednesday, as New Zealand began their preparations for their game against Bangladesh on Friday, Williamson was the first to hit the nets. Williamson first took throwdowns from batting coach Luke Ronchi before facing Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson, Jimmy Neesham and Matt Henry. The 33-year-old, who looked slightly patchy against the pace battery, then had a discussion with Neesham about the batting stint before moving into the spinners' net.

Against spin, he timed the ball well and played some beautiful shots against Mitchell Santner and Mark Chapman.

Bowling coach Shane Jurgensen, though, said the final decision on Williamson's availability will be taken after Thursday's training session.