Breaking! Kane Williamson to not take part in second Test vs England

In a major setback for New Zealand, Kane Williamson has been ruled out of the second Test against England. The team skipper tested positive for Covid-19 on the eve of the second match. The match will begin on the 10th of June at Trent Bridge in Nottingham.

Williamson, underwent a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) after feeling slight symptoms on Thursday, and will now spend five days in isolation. In his absence, Tom Latham will lead the team, while Hamish Rutherford, who is presently playing county cricket for Leicestershire, has been brought in by New Zealand and will arrive in Nottingham on Friday morning.

"It's such a shame for Kane to be forced to withdraw on the eve of such an important match. We're all feeling for him at this time and know how disappointed he will be. Hamish was with the Test squad earlier in the tour and has been playing for the Leicestershire Foxes in the T20 Vitality Blast," Gary Stead, New Zealand's head coach, said.

In the meantime, the rest of the Kiwi team has returned negative reports. This is not the first time Covid has interfered with New Zealand's tour. Three team players, Henry Nicholls, Blair Tickner, and Shane Jurgensen, were forced to isolate after testing positive in Brighton prior to the first warm-up match against Sussex.

As for the series, the Black Caps were defeated by England in the first T20I by five wickets. Joe Root's brilliance in the second innings helped England secure a 1-0 lead. In a difficult situation in the game, he scored an unbeaten 115 off 170 balls. Except for Kyle Jamieson, none of the New Zealand bowlers could do much while defending the total. He alone took four wickets out of the total five wickets.

The Black Caps will now look to level the series at Trent Bridge. If they lose the match, they will lose the series as well as valuable World Test Championship points.