The Albany Gazette - New Zealand's Williamson out for a duck in last innings before England opener

Star batsman Williamson, who only joined the squad this week after leaving the Indian Premier League early to witness the birth of his second child in New Zealand and did not bat in the first innings of this match against a County Select XI at Chelmsford.

He lasted just nine balls on Saturday before edging to slip off Jamie Porter, with the seamer taking a quintet of top-order wickets on his Essex home ground.

There were also single-figure scores for Tom Latham, Will Young, Devon Conway (his second of the match), Tom Blundell and Colin de Grandhomme -- all set to feature in the first of a three-match series against England as the reigning World Test champions slumped to 19 for six.

New Zealand eventually recovered to 148 all out in their second innings.

At stumps, the County Select XI were 112 for one, needing a further 152 runs to reach a victory target of 254 -- more than they managed first-time around -- on Sunday's final day of four.

Williamson has been ruled out of Test cricket since November with a chronic elbow problem, although he was passed fit to play for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the lucrative Twenty20 IPL.

But hopes of a lengthy stay in the middle after some modest returns in India were dashed when he was caught prodding at a Porter ball that lifted off a good length.

The uncapped Porter finished with figures of five for 31.

But a late-order stand of 63 between Neil Wagner and Kyle Jamieson spared New Zealand from a humiliating total after the tailenders' fellow paceman Tim Southee made a rapid 34.

(B.Hartmann--BBZ)