Auckland [New Zealand], February 19 (ANI): New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson returned to training on Saturday after recovering from an elbow injury.

Earlier this month, Williamson was ruled out of the South Africa series due to the injury.

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"Great to be back in the nets," Williamson captioned the post on Instagram.

New Zealand coach Gary Stead had said Williamson was desperate to be fit but the management had to make a tough call for the skipper.

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"He was desperate to be fit for the series but with the amount of loading required for Test cricket, we had to make the tough call for him to sit it out and focus on returning for the white ball matches against the Netherlands in March," Stead had said.

"Kane loves playing for the BLACKCAPS and especially in Test cricket so it was a particularly hard call. However the priority has to be trying to get the injury right and having him available long term," he added.

The Kiwi skipper had also missed the home Test series against Bangladesh.

Meanwhile, Pacer Tim Southee picked five wickets in the second innings as New Zealand on Saturday defeated South Africa by an innings and 276 runs in the first Test here at the Hagley Oval on Day 3.

With this win, New Zealand has taken a 1-0 lead in the two-match Test series. The hosts claimed 12 World Test Championships (WTC) points following their win over South Africa. (ANI)

(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)