Kane Williamson played two brilliant innings in the final of the ICC World Test Championship on a sporting wicket against India as New Zealand etched their name in cricketing folklore.
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For a long time, New Zealand were always considered a team that would be given secondary preference in a contest. From 1930 onwards till 2010, they were regarded as the patricians of Test cricket. The record low of 26 still has New Zealand’s name. Australia did not play a Test against New Zealand for 27 years. For teams like England or the West Indies, the tour to New Zealand would be like a rest cure. England would want to recover in New Zealand after the Ashes drubbing. The West Indies, after decimating Australia and England in the 70s and the 80s, would make a token tour.
In the modern era, India playing New Zealand would be a problem for broadcasters. Who would want to watch a match at 3 AM IST? Thus, India would primarily restrict themselves to two Tests but more ODIs and T20Is. It made broadcasting sense, you see. The Australians forever look down upon the Kiwis. It took 32 years for Australia to invite New Zealand for a Boxing Day or New Year Test in Melbourne and Sydney.
Yet, New Zealand produced greats. Richard Hadlee, Jeremy Coney, Martin Crowe, Glenn Turner, Geoff Howarth and John Wright were some of the most prominent Kiwis to have made a mark on Test cricket. Hadlee was the Atlas of New Zealand cricket at a time when they went unbeaten against the West Indies at home for 10 years. In that glorious 80s, Hadlee had inspired New Zealand to wins against Australia and England. For many a decade, that was the benchmark. In the new millennium, something changed.
January 2013. Newlands, Cape Town. South Africa tore New Zealand apart for 45 with Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander ripping through them. Kane Williamson stood tall amongst the ruins with 13. A dressing room rift between Ross Taylor and Brendon McCullum fractured the Blackcaps. If this was rock bottom, they had hit it. Yet, in their home summer, some things fell into place.
New Zealand were building a core. Tim Southee, New Zealand’s bowling star, got support. Trent Boult, in that glorious summer of 2013 and Neil Wagner, emerged as the trio who would decimate oppositions. Under Brendon McCullum, and with the experience of Taylor and Williamson, the New Zealand team had some form and shape. For three years, from 2013 till 2015, New Zealand experienced a high. It was punctuated by lows of the Champions Trophy and World T20 exits early, but slowly the image of punching above their weight was being shattered.
The ‘Greatness is Contagious’ run in the 2015 ICC World Cup greatly transformed New Zealand. Such was New Zealand‘s prowess that many teams had to change their blueprint in approaching the ODI game. They lost in the final to Australia at Melbourne, but the seeds of success would be sown amidst the loss.
His first three ODIs resulted in ducks. When he was facing Morne Morkel, Vernon Philander and Dale Steyn on a spicy fifth day deck in Wellington, he was hit on the box by Steyn. Williamson was in pain but Steyn responded that ‘he will not apologise’. That sheer disregard only bought out the best of Williamson. His century in 2012 Wellington was the making of Kane Williamson.
His captaincy stint began in Zimbabwe. As always, second-tier teams only got that benefit. The likes of India, Australia and England played amongst each other. More eyeballs and money, stupid. New Zealand were reduced to playing West Indies and Zimbabwe and occasionally, South Africa and England.
They lost in South Africa and were hammered 3-0 in India. But, there was a focus emerging in the New Zealand team. Rather than getting deflated, New Zealand wanted to keep winning. After being hammered by Australia, New Zealand put together some good results. They beat Pakistan and Bangladesh but came crashing down to earth against the Proteas yet again. In 2018, the success that they had against England and against Pakistan in UAE gave them the necessary boost.
When the cycle was announced, New Zealand got only one three-Test series to play. Once again, the unfairness in match allocation would be evident. India would play three Tests or four Tests but would play only two Tests against Bangladesh and New Zealand. That was what they thought of New Zealand. India won five out of the six series. Their only loss? Wait for it. Against New Zealand.
New Zealand played four two-Test series in the entire cycle. In the three-match Tests against Australia, they were whitewashed. It was on the back of home dominance that New Zealand became the No.1 ranked Test team for the first time in history. From being labelled patricians 11 years ago, New Zealand had scaled the summit. That victory against Pakistan, against whom they have had so many heartbreaks, was poetic justice.
At the same time, the justice was rewarded when Australia were docked four points and they cancelled the South Africa tour due to COVID-19. Karma has weird ways of working. Ahead of the ICC World Test Championship final, New Zealand played two Tests against England. They won a series after 21 years. Importantly, they got used to the conditions. India, at a time, were hopping from bubble to bubble. Nature is a great leveler. New Zealand has the lowest COVID-19 rates in the world, India had the second-highest. The level of quarantine and discipline featured in New Zealand’s approach.
A deeper coincidence runs before the ICC World Test Championship. In 2000, just before New Zealand had won the ICC Champions Trophy in Kenya, they had beaten England 2-1 in the Tests prior to that. Now, in the ICC World Test Championship, they had beaten England after 22 years.
Winning the toss was a great initiative. On a cloudy day and a sporting pitch, New Zealand had all bases covered. Boult and Southee the swing masters, Jamieson the bounce and swing king and Wagner the battering ram to break down the techniques. All chipped in. Not a single Indian batsman hit a fifty.
It was then that Kane Williamson became the Iceman. Cool and calm on a wicket that was assisting the pacers, he negotiated Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah brilliantly. His 49 is significant because he had crucial partnerships with the tail. Picture this. India’s last four wickets chipped in with 12 runs. New Zealand had 57. Those partnerships were possible only because Williamson was so calm.
In the second innings, his captaincy was spot on. He had the right bowlers bowling at all ends. His field placements were superb, something that Virat Kohli missed. Runs from any batsmen were going to be crucial. Shami was threatening to take the game away with streaky boundaries. He placed a fly slip. Something that you would associate with Auckland now came into fruition in Southampton. That fly slip prevented the tail from scoring unnecessary runs.
In the fourth innings, Williamson averages 52, which is more than Kohli, Steve Smith and Joe Root. He has more centuries than the Fab Three. His confidence and determination was there for everyone to see. When he missed the sweep, the calmness with which he took the review signaled his ultimate confidence. The ball was missing leg stump and he survived. Williamson played like how Williamson plays.
He did not get a single stroke wrong. Towards the end, one false shot almost saw his dismissal only for India to fluff the chance. The force was with New Zealand. Fittingly, he and Ross Taylor guided New Zealand over the line.
Williamson and Taylor have 550 runs at an average of 68 during the last eight years. When they come together, the team is bailed out of a good position in the fourth innings. In the last 10 years, the Taylor-Williamson duo have stitched 3875 runs at an average of 59 with 10 century partnerships. No one has scored more than the duo. The trio of Neil Wagner, Tim Southee and Trent Boult have 806 wickets with all their averages just over 25. The Taylor-Williamson duo found great support in Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls and Colin de Grandhomme. In 2020, the trio of fast bowlers became a quarter with the potency of Kyle Jamieson.
To marshall all of them, you need a calm leader. This leader just raised his fist sheepishly when he hit the winning six in the high-voltage clash against Australia in Auckland in the 2015 World Cup. Those levels of calmness are insane. But, Kane Williamson is very able and the ICC World Test Championship title is a fitting tribute.
