Kane Williamson (Twitter)
Williamson explained that the beauty of test cricket lies in the five-day-long game, which can end up in tricky situations and requires a concrete strategy in order to achieve victory
Test cricket may be gruelling for a lot of cricketers, but for New Zealand batter Kane Williamson the sense of “romance” that the format carries is unmatched.
The former Black Caps captain recently smashed his 27th century in the format, leading his team to register a thrilling victory against Sri Lanka in the first of the two-Test series on home soil.
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Following the match-winning knock, Williamson revealed that the “romance” of red-ball cricket cannot be replicated in other formats. Williamson explained that the beauty of test cricket lies in the five-day-long game, which can end up in tricky situations and requires a concrete strategy in order to achieve victory.
Looking at his personal milestones, Williamson currently holds the record for the highest number of Test centuries by a New Zealand batter. He is also the highest run-scorer in the format for the Black Caps.
However, the 32-year-old seemed unconcerned about his personal achievements as he said, “Test centuries are definitely special but when you sit in the dressing room afterwards you don’t sit and think about yourself. You think about the five days and the contributions that were made throughout. That should all be acknowledged in the same way.”
Labelling test cricket as “the pinnacle,” Kane Williamson revealed that it was the format that “got him inspired about the game and helped him grow.”
Taking the nail-biting win against Sri Lanka into account, the top-order batter said, “Test cricket is special, there is a romance to it and there is a bond in working really hard for a long time and ending up in some of the situations that we’ve found ourselves in. You can’t replicate that in the other formats.”
One of the most classy batters of his generation, Williamson has represented New Zealand in 93 tests so far, aggregating a total of 7909 runs at an impressive batting average of 53.80.
Speaking about hanging up his boots, Williamson said that he is not thinking about his retirement right now as he asserted, “I enjoy it and love being a part of the team, I’m not that old and I enjoy the challenges that come with international cricket.”
Riding on Williamson’s unbeaten 121-run knock, New Zealand won the opening Test by 2 wickets, which paved the way for India to make their second consecutive appearance in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
Sri Lanka could have booked a berth for the summit clash against Australia if they could beat the Kiwis in both Tests. The second Test between these two is slated to begin on March 17 in Wellington.
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