Quiet and classy, one of New Zealand’s greats
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| Player-of-the-tournament in the 2019 World Cup, skipper Kane Williamson’s valiant New Zealand team was runner-up in a photo finish. |
ONE-DAY WORLD CUP BATTING: Matches 23, Innings 22, Not Out 6, Highest Score 148, Runs 911, Average 56.93, Strike-rate 78.33, 100s 2, 50s 3, Catches 9
Calm, under-stated, dignified, arguably the greatest New Zealand batsman ahead of the likes of Martin Crowe, Stephen Fleming and Bert Sutcliffe, Kane Williamson is one of the contemporary greats. Impressive as they are, mere statistics do not do complete justice to his technically correct batsmanship bereft of histrionics. In a sense he is a throwback to an era long gone, though in a modern avatar.
Still not 21 years old in the 2011 World Cup, Williamson appeared late in the tournament, coming in at no. 6 against lowly-rated Canada. He put on 59 for the sixth wicket with Scott Styris in 5.5 overs, and an unbroken 40 in just two overs with a belligerent James Franklin. Williamson was unbeaten with 34 off 27 deliveries with four boundaries. New Zealand piled up 358 for six. Canada gave a good account of themselves, finishing on 261 for nine.
Sri Lanka posted a formidable 265 for nine. The wily Muttiah Muralitharan beat Williamson off a straighter one and had him stumped by Kumar Sangakkara for 5. The Kiwis packed up for 153.
There was course correction in the quarter-final against the Proteas, Williamson added 32 for the sixth wicket with Nathan McCullum in 6.4 overs, and returned with 38 not out to his name, having squared up to 41 deliveries and hit a six and a four. New Zealand totalled 221 for eight but all that South Africa could manage was 172.
The Lankans were too good once again in the semi-final. New Zealand could only muster 217. Williamson hit up 22 off 16 balls punctuated with 3 fours in a 31-run stand with Styris in 4.2 overs. Sri Lanka won by five wickets with 13 deliveries to spare.
Williamson’s 99 runs in four matches came at an average of 49.50 with a strike-rate of 107.60. There was not much else a youngster could do batting at four down.
The opportunity of redemption in the premier event came very quickly, in the opening fixture of the very next edition, on home soil of Christchurch, in 2015. Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum carted the Sri Lankan attack to all parts of Hagley Oval, raising 111 in 15.5 overs. Now batting at no. 3, Williamson added 57 for the third wicket with Ross Taylor in 11.1 overs. Having cruised steadily, Williamson stepped on the accelerator. He brought up his fifty off 59 deliveries. He was brilliantly caught by Dimuth Karunaratne in the long-on region off Jeevan Mendis for 57, having faced 70 balls, embellished with a six and five boundaries. New Zealand hoisted 331 for six. Sri Lanka could manage just 233.
The Kiwis struggled to overhaul a modest Scottish total of 142. Williamson was joined by Grant Elliott at 66 for three. They put on 40 in 7.1 overs before Williamson was caught behind off the inner edge. His 38 came off 45 deliveries, having struck six boundaries. Wickets continued to tumble, and New Zealand were able to clinch victory by just three wickets.
There was an easy win as Tim Southee ran through the English line-up with a haul of seven for 33, the third-best figures in the World Cup. England capsized for 123. There was not much left for others after scintillating hitting by skipper Brendon McCullum. He smashed the fastest fifty in the World Cup off just 18 balls, and third fastest ever in One-day Internationals. His 77 off 25 deliveries contained 7 sixes and 8 fours. Williamson was unbeaten on 9 as New Zealand coasted to an eight-wicket win.
The Aussies too could put up just 151, this time Trent Boult bagging five for 27. McCullum played another blistering innings, racing to his fifty off just 21 balls, the joint third-fastest in the showpiece event. Williamson put on 38 in 3.5 overs for the second wicket with McCullum, and 52 in 11.2 overs for the fifth wicket with Corey Anderson. As Williamson stood steadfast, wickets tumbled at the other end, Mitchell Starc ripping out six for 28. With six runs still remaining, last man Trent Boult had the unenviable task of staving off a hat-trick by Starc. He saw off two deliveries. Immediately soothing frayed nerves, Williamson slammed Pat Cummins for a six over long-on. He emerged on top in a high-tension battle, returning unconquered with 45, having taken on 42 deliveries and struck 5 fours in addition to the winning six. It was a dramatic one-wicket win, the sixth such instance in the World Cup.
Chasing Afghanistan’s 186, McCullum was once again on the rampage. He blasted 42 off 19 deliveries. Williamson then got together in a 58-run partnership in 12.5 overs for the second wicket with Guptill. Williamson was caught at mid-wicket for 33 off 45 balls, having stroked four boundaries. New Zealand carved out a six-wicket victory.
The last pool match brought Williamson his first failure of the tournament. After Bangladesh had hoisted a formidable 288 for seven, Shakib Al Hasan snared him for just 1, dismissed for a single-digit score for the first time in 24 innings in One-day Internationals. Spurred by a century by Guptill, New Zealand pulled off a three-wicket triumph with seven balls to spare. They had won all their six pool matches.
The quarter-final against the West Indies was dominated by Guptill’s astonishing unbeaten 237, the highest score in the World Cup. He and Williamson put on 62 in 11.4 overs for the second wicket. Williamson was caught in the covers for 33, having squared up to 35 balls and hit five boundaries. There was a huge 143-run win for New Zealand.
In a high-scoring rain-interrupted semi-final, New Zealand edged out South Africa with just one ball remaining, entering their first World Cup final. Williamson, though, played on to his stumps for just 6.
The final was a one-sided affair, Australia cruising to a seven-wicket triumph. Williamson was caught and bowled for just 12.
After a consistent run through most of the tournament, though bereft of tall scores, Williamson had a lean trot towards the end. His 234 runs in 9 matches came at an average of 33.42 and strike-rate of 78. It may not have been a brilliant performance but he played a vital role at no. 3 after the histrionics of McCullum and the prolific shows of Guptill.
The opening face-off in 2019 was again with Sri Lanka, and once more the Kiwis trounced them, this time by 10 wickets.
Now at the helm, Williamson steered his team to a narrow two-wicket win over a spirited Bangladesh side. Facing a target of 245, Williamson allied with Ross Taylor (82 runs, 91 balls, 9 fours) in a 105-run third-wicket stand in 21.1 overs. After Williamson departed for a painstaking 42, complied in 72 deliveries with just one boundary, there was a steady fall of wickets as New Zealand trudged home with 17 deliveries to spare.
There were no surprises from the Afghans who were bowled out for 172. Williamson was in early as Guptill was dismissed first ball. He saw his side to an easy seven-wicket victory, aided by useful stands with Colin Munro, Ross Taylor and Tom Latham. Williamson’s unbeaten 79 came off 99 balls studded with 9 fours.
With the game against India washed out, New Zealand edged out South Africa in a rain-hit match by four wickets with just three deliveries remaining. Chasing South Africa’s 241 for six in the allotted 49 overs, Williamson played a stellar knock. He added 60 with Guptill in 12.5 overs. Having given himself time to settle in, Williamson raised his fifty off 72 deliveries. There was a 57-run fifth-wicket stand in 14.1 overs with James Neesham, and another for the next wicket with a belligerent Colin de Grandhomme yielding 91 runs in 14.5 overs. With 5 balls remaining, and Williamson on 96 with 7 runs still required, he slammed Andile Phehlukwayo high over mid-wicket for a six. He then dabbed the next to the backward point boundary. It was a classy display, his 106 spanning 138 deliveries embellished with nine boundaries in addition to the six. There was no other contender for the man-of-the-match award.
The masterclass continued as Williamson crafted a superb 148 off the Caribbean attack. New Zealand lurched with Guptill bagging another first-ball duck, and Munro also dismissed for nought, by Sheldon Cottrell in the first over. Williamson resurrected the innings with Ross Taylor. The duo put on 160 in 33.4 overs, matching each other run for run, bringing up their half-centuries within a delivery of each other. Taylor fell for 69 but Williamson cruised blissfully. A pull to the fine-leg fence took him to a consecutive hundred, compiled over 124 balls. He shifted gears, putting the bowling to the sword. Finally top-edging one to be taken by the keeper, his delightful essay spread over 154 balls contained a six and 14 fours. New Zealand hoisted 291 for eight. A swashbuckling 122-run stand between Chris Gayle and Shimron Hetmyer and a scintillating century by Carlos Brathwaite turned it into an edge-of-the-seat thriller. With six required, Brathwaite was brilliantly caught by Trent Boult on the long-on boundary off the last ball of the 49th over. It was a successive man-of-the-match prize for the jubilant Williamson.
The first reverse in the tournament came at the hands of Pakistan. Wickets tumbled regularly, and soon New Zealand found themselves in a strife at 46 for four in the 13th over. Williamson found an able ally in Neesham. They added 37 in 13.5 overs before Williamson was caught behind for 41. He had squared up to 69 deliveries and struck 4 fours. Neesham and de Grandhomme added 132 to carry the side to a respectable 237 for six. That was not enough as an unbeaten century by Babar Azam took Pakistan to a six-wicket victory with five balls to spare.
The downturn continued as the Aussies handed out another defeat. After posting 243 for nine, disrupted by a Trent Boult hat-trick, their bowlers kept a stranglehold on the Kiwis. Williamson partnered with Ross Taylor in a 55-run third-wicket stand in 12.3 overs. He was caught at the wicket once again as Mitchell Starc angled one away to bag the first of his five wickets. Williamson top-scored with 40 off 51 deliveries punctuated by 2 fours and a six over mid-wicket. New Zealand were bowled out for 157.
A consecutive hundred by Jonny Bairstow powered England to a formidable 305 for eight. After the two openers left with just 14 on the board, Williamson and Taylor tried to resurrect the innings. They added 47 before tragedy struck as both were run out after playing cameos. Williamson was desperately unlucky to be caught out of his crease at the non-striker’s end, having scored 27 off 40 balls and hit three boundaries. Soon Taylor fell short going for a non-existent second. New Zealand could manage only 186.
They managed to qualify for the semi-finals, edging out Pakistan on run-rate. The firm of Williamson and Taylor were once again in business, putting on 65 for the third wicket in 17 overs. Williamson holed out for 67, having squared up to 95 deliveries and crafted six boundaries. On 74, Taylor was unfortunate to be run out for a second successive time, victim of a brilliant direct strike by the irrepressible Ravindra Jadeja. New Zealand put up 239 for eight. The Indian top-order was rocked, slumping to 5 for three. From there they hardly looked in the hunt despite some scintillating hitting by Jadeja. They were bowled out for 221.
The final was the stuff of legend, a thriller that kept everybody on tenterhooks with incredible twists and turns. Just as New Zealand seemed to have the match under control, an overthrow ricocheting to the boundary off a diving Ben Stokes’ bat, turned it around. The game was tied, so was the super over. A boundary countback gave the title to England. For the record, Williamson and Henry Nicholls put on 74 for the second wicket in 16.2 overs. Williamson was snapped up by the keeper, having scored 30 off 53 balls with two boundaries. Nicholls scored a half-century and New Zealand clocked 241 for eight. Stokes was unbeaten with 84 as nos. 10 and 11 were run out off the last two deliveries. The super over produced 15 runs each. Stokes was man-of-the-match, and the consistent Williamson was pronounced player-of-the-series for his 578 runs and inspirational captaincy that almost clinched the Cup for his country.
An average of 82.57, strike-rate of almost 75, two hundreds and two fifties made for a fine show, in keeping with his stature as one of the top contemporary batsmen. In all, Williamson is just 89 runs short of the 1,000 runs mark in the World Cup at 56.93 per innings and 78.33 runs per 100 balls.
Unassuming as a man, touch of class with the bat, Kane Williamson bids fair to make a mark as a legend of New Zealand cricket, having already led his team to the first World Test Championship in 2021. “He took the Blackcaps to unprecedented success, he brought so much consistency of high performance to that side, right throughout all forms of the game he’s achieved so much,” was his former skipper Brendon McCullum’s glowing accolade for Williamson on Senz Mornings radio show. Doubtlessly, there is still so much more for him to accomplish.
(Excerpt from Indra Vikram Singh’s forthcoming book ‘Cricket World Cup: Hat-trick of Home Wins’).
