Kane Williamson unlikely for Black Caps' Zimbabwe tour

Former Black Caps captain Kane Williamson is unlikely to tour Zimbabwe for a two-test series starting in July, after opting out of a central contract for a second year running.

However, he says he will continue to be available for the national team without being obliged to play, adding that he is still passionate about playing for his country.

Williamson has arrived in London for a stint with Middlesex in the County Championship and the T20 Blast, and with London Spirit in The Hundred. He will be play in at least 10 T20 matches and five County Championship matches, through to September.

Black Caps coach Gary Stead has indicated he doesn't expect Williamson to be available for the Zimbabwe tests — in Bulawayo, starting on July 30 and August 7, following seven T20 matches in Harare.

In interviews on his arrival at Middlesex, Williamson has indicated that spending time his family with will be his priority outside of his cricket commitments. His wife Sarah, who is English, and their three children are with him in England.

"It worked well last year, and obviously I'm in close conversations with New Zealand cricket, and the relationship is strong, but the landscape's changing really fast." he told The Guardian.

The situation of not being on a central contract was still evolving for both parties, he said.

"Yeah, we're still learning how to do it," he says. "The landscape keeps changing with the different challenges that we're presented with as cricketers. It's a work in progress. But New Zealand Cricket have been great to work with on it, I've been fortunate with that."

Williamson opted out of some Black Caps series in the past year, including the tours of Bangladesh and India.

The 34-year-old said he had done reflective thinking following the retirement from test cricket of India star Virat Kohli. The pair, Joe Root and Steve Smith were once dubbed the "Fab Four'' by the late Martin Crowe in an ESPN Cricinfo article.

"My first thought was 'oh gosh, there's an end point'," Williamson said. "Because before that, you're on the journey, there's a pursuit there. And it's not connected to those other three, but we've all been playing at the same time, and we've all competed against each other for a long time and we all know each other pretty well. So then you do start to reflect a little bit.

"I know Virat pretty well, we've chatted a lot over the years, but you do realise that we're not just cricketers as well, we're human beings and your life situation changes."

rnz.co.nz