Williamson has been New Zealand’s highest scorer in the previous two ODI World Cups combined, having scored 812 runs at an average of 58. In fact, he was the Player of the Tournament in the 2019 ODI World Cup, finishing with 578 runs at an average of 82.57. To say that New Zealand will miss him is an understatement. How do they go about filling his humongous shoes then? They have a few options.

Will Young

Young has had a prolific start to his ODI career, averaging 54.8 and striking at 91.4 with two fifties and two hundreds in just 11 innings. He is a natural at No.3, the position vacated by Williamson’s absence, with eight out of his first 11 ODI innings coming in this position. He is part of the New Zealand ODI squad playing a five-match-ODI series in Pakistan currently and has been given the opening slot in the absence of regular openers. He seems to have adapted well, scoring a crucial 86 in the first ODI.

The conditions in Pakistan won’t be too dissimilar to those in India during the World Cup. A couple more impactful knocks in this series, and the New Zealand management might lock him in for the No.3 spot for the World Cup.

Mark Chapman

Chapman recently scored an unbeaten hundred from No.5 in the fifth T20I against Pakistan to take his team to victory from an improbable situation. His heroics have brought him into the picture for a potential World Cup call-up. He’s not the ideal like-for-like replacement for Williamson but can be a handy pick, especially given he’s a left-hander. The fact that he started his cricket career in Hong Kong also means that he has some experience playing in Asian conditions.

His eight ODIs so far have brought him promising returns – an average of 46.2 and a strike rate of 104.5, with two centuries, both coming from No.4, one for Hong Kong, and one for New Zealand.

Gary Stead, New Zealand’s head coach, in a media interaction on the eve of the first New Zealand-Pakistan ODI said that Chapman is in their plans for the World Cup. “There is a lot of competition for places and it’s not so much about the competition, but it’s how we keep building towards the World Cup. And Mark Chapman is one guy who is in our thoughts around that,” said Stead.

Martin Guptill

New Zealand can also potentially look towards Guptill, their talismanic opener, to fill in for Williamson in the World Cup. Guptill has been released from his New Zealand central contract but is still available to play for the Blackcaps. He is New Zealand’s third-highest run-scorer in ODI World Cup history, with 995 runs at an average of 43.26, and brings with him loads of experience, both at the big stage and in Indian conditions.

If New Zealand do go his way, they may ask Devon Conway to drop down to No.3 and take over Williamson’s role, while Guptill partners with one of Finn Allen or Will Young at the top. Conway in his brief international career has shown that he is more than capable of adapting to different positions and situations, and his quality against spin will make him one of New Zealand’s best bets to play the anchor role.

Replacing a stalwart like Williamson won’t be easy. New Zealand need to make sure that they don’t leave the decision too late and give enough backing and game time to whoever it is they go with. While Williamson has not yet been officially ruled out of the World Cup, his participation seems next to impossible right now. New Zealand can hope for the best, but they need to prepare for the worst.