Kane Williamson praised by friends and foes alike
It is a surprise Kane Williamson doesn’t often enough feature in conversations pertaining to great batsmen of the current era.
The New Zealand No. 3 has been one of the most consistent batsmen of his time with nine centuries and 29 half-centuries, with 4461 runs from 112 matches at an average of 46.46 in One-Day International cricket. In Tests, the 26-year-old has 5116 runs from 61 games at an average of 51.16 with 17 centuries. What makes him complete is that his average in Twenty20 Internationals is just as impressive: 36.29 with 1125 runs from 39 games.
His feats don't attract as much attention as those of Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Steven Smith and Joe Root, but during his 97-ball 100 against Australia in a washed out ICC Champions Trophy 2017 game on Friday (June 2), he showed why he should be spoken in the same breath.
MATCH HERO: Kane Williamson
“There's quite a few in the opposition dressing room. Look, on any day anyone can score runs. And then people maybe think they're good players. So it's very hard to say,” said Williamson jokingly when asked about his opinion on the best batsmen in the business. “Look, AB de Villiers, I think, is an exceptional player in all formats. Virat (Kohli). Obviously Steve Smith. Joe Root -- I don't know, there's several other players.
Asked to rate himself, Williamson said: “I don't know, some days it goes okay. Some days… (laughs).”
Witnessing Williamson from the non-striker’s end during that classy innings was Luke Ronchi, and he was in awe of his skipper’s ability to make batting look easy. And Ronchi himself was no mug in the game, belting 65 from 43 balls with three sixes and nine fours.
“He’s pretty relaxed when he comes out to bat,” said Ronchi. “Not too many things faze him. He makes it look easy and all of a sudden, flicks a switch and can pick the rate up really quickly. There’s a group of them, him, Steven Smith – they just make the game look easy. It’s pretty cool to have someone like that on your team.”
CAPTAINS' INTERVIEW: Smith and Williamson
Shane Bond, the former Kiwi quick who last played international cricket a few months before Williamson’s debut in 2010, was just as spellbound by his ability to switch gears and take his game to another level.
“What I love about him is the effortlessness with which he scores runs. He has a high strike-rate all the way through, but he doesn’t score quickly through slogging. He gets away from you with good cricket shots and suddenly, even before you know it, he is 25 off 20,” offered Bond in his post-match column for ICC.
“In many ways, he is very similar to Steve Smith – he plays good shots, but he also turns the strike over, and that allows guys like Ross Taylor to come in and build an innings.”
Even Smith, the opposition skipper who was seen grimacing as Williamson calmly dismantled his bowling unit, couldn’t help but praise him.
“I think Kane is a magnificent player in all formats of the game,” he stated. “He's a very smart cricketer, he understands his game incredibly well. And he's just -- he's a very good player. And it looks like he's just getting better as well."