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Kane Williamson’s position in the Fab 4

Have to agree with Mamoon on the Criticism against Williamson. Having a test avg of 31 after playing 32 test matches in countries like England, Australia, South Africa and India is shocking. Definately not living up to the hype. Even Babar Azam has a good average in England, Australia and South Africa.
 
Something happened to Williamson's overseas batting post the 2019 World Cup. Up until that point he'd averaged 46 off shore, and during his golden period between 2013 and 2019 he was averaging nearly 70. Dunno, maybe a combination of injuries, captaincy pressures and lack of test cricket (NZ's only played 14 tests away from home in the last 5 and a half years and Williamson only 11).
 
What is the point of playing T20 cricket with career SR 122.
Scored 23(23) on high scoring pitch against Aus.
Today 8(13) against Lanka.

He should have retired.
 
The only reason Williamson is part of fab 4 because Martin Crowe was biased towards fellow Kiwi. Williamson is arguably worse than rest of the fab 3 in every single format.
 
Cover Drive Six said:
What is the point of playing T20 cricket with career SR 122.
Scored 23(23) on high scoring pitch against Aus.
Today 8(13) against Lanka.

He should have retired.
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Babar does pretty much same thing & until recently he was regarded as the best T20 player in the world probably ever as well.
 
Kane is not much of a T20 batsman.

Never been the fastest scorer, and now seems to be regressing further.

Still a really good captain though.
 
MOTM performance from him tonight.

He shouldn't be playing next game, but he will.

His 100 SR innings are killing us.
 
Kane is like Andy Murray. There was never a big four but the tennis media had to lump Murray with Federer, Nadal and Djokovic to create a big four when there only ever was a big three. Kane is the same. He isn’t on the level of Root, Smith and Kohli but he gets lumped together with them. He is a good tier below the big three. Extremely overrated.
 
The_KING said:
Kane is like Andy Murray. There was never a big four but the tennis media had to lump Murray with Federer, Nadal and Djokovic to create a big four when there only ever was a big three. Kane is the same. He isn’t on the level of Root, Smith and Kohli but he gets lumped together with them. He is a good tier below the big three. Extremely overrated.
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Nah, all of this criticism is only coming after Kane's decline the last 2 years which is clearly because of his tennis elbow injury.

Of the 4, he's the only one to lead his country to a world title.
 
His away Test record is abysmal for someone who is touted as an all-timer. He gets a lot of leeway from the fans because he plays for a neutral team and his failures are not highlighted.

Excellent captain though. New Zealand have achieved a lot under his leadership.
 
Aman said:
Nah, all of this criticism is only coming after Kane's decline the last 2 years which is clearly because of his tennis elbow injury.

Of the 4, he's the only one to lead his country to a world title.
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He is an excellent captain. That is his biggest strength.

But he is an extremely overrated batsman.
 
As a batsman in T20Is, he's the same level as Babar. They're both overrated low impact accumulators.

The reason I rate Kane however is because he's not selfish and doesn't abuse his power as captain. Unlike him, Babar is opening because he wants to face as many deliveries as possible to pad up stats - in order to bump up his average and milestones.

Not only does Kane lead by example but he's actually a good captain.
 
Doesn't merit a place in t20i team. Said it 5 years ago. He will score one very good knock once in a while but will usually just labor to 100-110 SR in most of his innings. Is also a momentum killer after a fast start.
 
its funny how 3 of the major teams have slow-paced batsmen as captains in T20:
1. NZ - Kane
2. Pak - Babar
3. SAF - Bavuma

I suppose they all could do with a change in role , gear, batting position, something.
 
mon858 said:
its funny how 3 of the major teams have slow-paced batsmen as captains in T20:
1. NZ - Kane
2. Pak - Babar
3. SAF - Bavuma

I suppose they all could do with a change in role , gear, batting position, something.
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Add finch too.. he's scored runs, but extremely lucky in this world cup so far.
 
Kane is lucky he plays for NZ
If Kohli, Root, Babar etc. had scored 40(40) in a losing chase, they would be hauled over coals by fans and national press.
 
pratiktc said:
Kane is lucky he plays for NZ
If Kohli, Root, Babar etc. had scored 40(40) in a losing chase, they would be hauled over coals by fans and national press.
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Absolutely. Kane gets away because NZ is a tiny nation with weak media, and cricket isn't even the biggest sport there. He's easily the most overrated batsman in last 13 years. I say overrated because a decent amount of people think he's an ATG
 
Pretty poor strike-rate for Kane at this T20 World Cup - just 93.42

Not having the best of tournaments.
 
Kane has plenty of flaws in all formats as a batsman.

In Tests, his record vs major countries away is poor.
In ODIs and T20s,his strike rate is pretty poor and that average is also not anything special.

ODI stats - AVG 46@SR 81
T20I stats - AVG 32@SR 122
 
Saj said:
Pretty poor strike-rate for Kane at this T20 World Cup - just 93.42

Not having the best of tournaments.
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Kane williamson IPL stat for 2022. 13 matches 19.63 average 93 strike rate. Was never a great T20 batsman. Now he has become worse.
 
jnaveen1980 said:
Kane williamson IPL stat for 2022. 13 matches 19.63 average 93 strike rate. Was never a great T20 batsman. Now he has become worse.
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Williamson was a fine T20 batsmen through most of his career, very handy at scoring at 7-8 rpo through the first 15 overs and setting things up for the power hitters to provide the finishing touches. He’s been totally cooked in all formats ever since his elbow issues became chronic in 2021.
 
Not doing his reputation any favours at the moment vs Pakistan
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Kane Williamson 46 off 42 balls.<br><br>If that was Babar Azam, there would be 2-hour specials about the innings on every television channel in Pakistan &#55357;&#56859;<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/T20WorldCup?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#T20WorldCup</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NZvsPAK?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NZvsPAK</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1590274704363094016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 9, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Firebat said:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Kane Williamson 46 off 42 balls.<br><br>If that was Babar Azam, there would be 2-hour specials about the innings on every television channel in Pakistan &#55357;&#56859;<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/T20WorldCup?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#T20WorldCup</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NZvsPAK?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NZvsPAK</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1590274704363094016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 9, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Williamson did what Babar refuses to. Kane has steadied the ship
 
Firebat said:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Kane Williamson 46 off 42 balls.<br><br>If that was Babar Azam, there would be 2-hour specials about the innings on every television channel in Pakistan ��<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/T20WorldCup?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#T20WorldCup</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NZvsPAK?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NZvsPAK</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1590274704363094016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 9, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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What a shot to get out to!

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Poor knock, you can't call it a good knock just because he reached the 40 runs mark.
 
I hope he retires from T20Is after this WC.

Need to get someone more dynamic in at 3.
 
I would prefer a tailender batting instead of Williamson for NZ. At least tailender isn't actively trying to lose the match.
 
T20Is
M - 85
AVG - 33
S/R - 123

should give up this format now. still can't believe our stupid SRH management had a spat with warner and banking on kane who has poor below avg IPL S/R too.
 
Williamson played a selfish match losing knock for NZ

I think NZ Cricket needs to make some tough decisions and in fact do a serious clean up of atleast the T-20 squad where they should follow England's template after the 2015 ODI WC. No matter whether NZ lost 1-2 early wickets but to score 46 runs of 42 deliveries in a WC semi-final was extremely poor. It is because of his lack of intent that NZ couldn't reach 170-180. He didn't even bother to up the ante when Daryll Mitchel was going great guns at the other end.

Its not like NZ didn't have any batting to come after him i.e. Jimmy Neesham, Mitch Satner, Tim Southee, Ish Sodi e.t.c. These guys are no mugs with the bat.

Its not like he doesn't have six hitting ability, he hit an impressive six of Wasim Jr. He did not play for the team in this knock.
 
He is not selfish, he is just not a very good hitter. Hit a six every now and then is not the same as batting at a high SR on regular basis.

The only way he will not be a liability is if he opens. He can utilize the PP overs and get a few boundaries.

He doesn’t have the power to clear the ropes once the field spreads out.
 
He has overachieved today. Apart from a few anomalies that is his ceiling. Conway's runout subdued his intensity to some extent. Still, it was an easy-paced pitch. He is a safe player. Not a violent player blessed with outrageous shots. He couldn't play the slow ball very well. You need to impart power to put away slow balls. You can't use the pace like he tried to do and got bowled.
 
Match losing innings were played by Allen, Phillips, Conway. All hailed for superior SR but jack failed to score runs in the first place. Intent doesn't get you anywhere if you don't score any runs.
 
There is one thing i appreciate though. Excellent stealer of twos. But he relied too much on them right till the end. He should have switched gears. teams getting to 152 after only 4 wickets down is rare. You might as well be 170/9 rather than this.
 
Energy said:
Match losing innings were played by Allen, Phillips, Conway. All hailed for superior SR but jack failed to score runs in the first place. Intent doesn't get you anywhere if you don't score any runs.
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152/4 in a T20 game means a totally failed strategy where you failed to utilize your resources.

152/4 should have been 172/8. There is no point in scoring runs at a low SR when there are only 20 overs and 6-7 players in the team who can bat.

New Zealand would have had a better chance of scoring more runs had Williamson got out earlier because he was going nowhere with his innings.

Allen, Phillips, Conway failed but maybe Neesham would have scored more runs if he faced more balls, maybe Santner and Southee would have tonked a few.

The point is that if you are only 4 down after 20 overs, you have to ask serious questions off the batsman who faced the bulk of the deliveries.

One four and one six in 42 balls. An absolute disaster of a knock and easily one of the worst ever innings played in the history of this format especially in a big game.
 
Terrible knock from a terrible T20 player. The likes of Root, KW and Steve Smith should no where be near any T20 squad.
 
Mamoon said:
152/4 in a T20 game means a totally failed strategy where you failed to utilize your resources.

152/4 should have been 172/8. There is no point in scoring runs at a low SR when there are only 20 overs and 6-7 players in the team who can bat.

New Zealand would have had a better chance of scoring more runs had Williamson got out earlier because he was going nowhere with his innings.

Allen, Phillips, Conway failed but maybe Neesham would have scored more runs if he faced more balls, maybe Santner and Southee would have tonked a few.

The point is that if you are only 4 down after 20 overs, you have to ask serious questions off the batsman who faced the bulk of the deliveries.

One four and one six in 42 balls. An absolute disaster of a knock and easily one of the worst ever innings played in the history of this format especially in a big game.
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All the balls were sitting up. Missed out on so many loose balls. He is good at protecting his wicket. But he is no ABDV. England left out root. High time they leave this guy out. His captaincy was inexplicable. He installed all the fielders on the boundary defending a smallish total. Babar/Rizwan took singles at will. They might as well have played Guptill in place of KW.
 
An anchor in T-20 Cricket has to be like Kohli where he rotates the strike, definately puts the bad balls away for 4's and 6's, makes sure he bats the 20 overs and has the ability to hit the big shots at the death and to finish his innings at a SR of 150-160.

Anchoring is not scoring at a SR of 90-100 and then ending your innings at a SR of 110-120.
 
Mamoon said:
152/4 in a T20 game means a totally failed strategy where you failed to utilize your resources.

152/4 should have been 172/8. There is no point in scoring runs at a low SR when there are only 20 overs and 6-7 players in the team who can bat.

New Zealand would have had a better chance of scoring more runs had Williamson got out earlier because he was going nowhere with his innings.

Allen, Phillips, Conway failed but maybe Neesham would have scored more runs if he faced more balls, maybe Santner and Southee would have tonked a few.

The point is that if you are only 4 down after 20 overs, you have to ask serious questions off the batsman who faced the bulk of the deliveries.

One four and one six in 42 balls. An absolute disaster of a knock and easily one of the worst ever innings played in the history of this format especially in a big game.
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But what if Williamson got out hitting for say under 10 and NZ became 45/4 in under 10 overs. The likelihood is also they could have been folded for 120. You always need one anchor to ensure some stability to the score. Taking it that extra 20% should have been the responsibility of those who got out, and those who played around Williamson. You can't enjoy the luxury of being touted as a big striker and then chicken away when it actually matters, and throw the accumulator under the bus.
 
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Energy said:
But what if Williamson got out hitting for say under 10 and NZ became 45/4 in under 10 overs. The likelihood is also they could have been folded for 120. You always need one anchor to ensure some stability to the score. Taking it that extra 20% should have been the responsibility of those who got out, and those who played around Williamson. You can't enjoy the luxury of being touted as a big striker and then chicken away when it actually matters, and throw the accumulator under the bus.
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There is a difference between anchoring an innings and putting it to a complete halt.

Williamson could have anchored the innings with a 56 in 42, or even a 60 in 42. He just needed to hit a few additional boundaries without taking any risks.

He played a horrible innings regardless of New Zealand’s situation. It was as bad as Misbah’s innings in Mohali semifinal.
 
Easily one of the most unattractive and boring player to be part of fab 4 of any era. Wouldn't pay a penny to watch him.
 
Poor innings and its contributed to nz being below par by 15-20 runs
 
Just watched his innings again Pakistan bowled well but He seemed more intent on placing the ball for 2s and running hard for doubles than actually hitting boundaries

He was patting full tosses for 2s than going for it

The intent during the middle overs was poor from him and ended up costing the team vital runs
 
Being calm and composed is one thing, but being indifferent is another. Kane, since the last couple of years, has been progressively moving from being calm to a guy with no strategy and no gameplan.
 
Seriously this guy should be dropped from T20s. Was a disaster in the IPL and in all NZ games recently. A SR of 100 in T20s and killing the momentum doesnt cut it.
 
deltexas said:
Seriously this guy should be dropped from T20s. Was a disaster in the IPL and in all NZ games recently. A SR of 100 in T20s and killing the momentum doesnt cut it.
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In IPL his strike rate was like 93 or something. Also his captaincy was downright worst. SRH let Warner go and retained this guy.
 
He knew Pakistan are terrible chasers and that anything around 150 would mean curtains especially in a Semi Final.

He was playing for the sweet spot of 150 which they managed to get, it came back to haunt them in the end of course.

Like others said, a clueless player with no strategy in T20s.
 
Rebuilding (careful cricket, no risks) from 45/4 is understandable but to start rebuilding at 4/1 is suicidal.
 
Pathetic innings especially if you had watched the game.

During the middle overs, Pakistan bowled a few loose deliveries to Williamson and he simply got 1 run from those deliveries. If you are set and you cannot hit the loose balls for runs, especially in a big game then you are essentially dooming your team. He lacked intent, his execution was unsatisfactory and in the end they scored 20 runs below what would have been a good score in hindsight. Chasing 173 and 153 is very different. Pakistan would have had to play their A game.
 
happydavy said:
Rebuilding (careful cricket, no risks) from 45/4 is understandable but to start rebuilding at 4/1 is suicidal.
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He would rebuild the innings even if NZ were 100/1 in 10 overs. It’s his natural game.

I have seen Kane play many such pathetic innings for SRH in IPL. He is a total waste of space in T20’s and a garbage hitter when you need to accelerate.
 
Mamoon said:
152/4 in a T20 game means a totally failed strategy where you failed to utilize your resources.

152/4 should have been 172/8. There is no point in scoring runs at a low SR when there are only 20 overs and 6-7 players in the team who can bat.

New Zealand would have had a better chance of scoring more runs had Williamson got out earlier because he was going nowhere with his innings.

Allen, Phillips, Conway failed but maybe Neesham would have scored more runs if he faced more balls, maybe Santner and Southee would have tonked a few.

The point is that if you are only 4 down after 20 overs, you have to ask serious questions off the batsman who faced the bulk of the deliveries.

One four and one six in 42 balls. An absolute disaster of a knock and easily one of the worst ever innings played in the history of this format especially in a big game.
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Agree. Till 10 ovs one could justify run a ball inns but he should have targeted a bowler after this same like Mitchell did Shadab. He kept delaying the charge preferring 150 rather than pushing for 170
 
pratiktc said:
Agree. Till 10 ovs one could justify run a ball inns but he should have targeted a bowler after this same like Mitchell did Shadab. He kept delaying the charge preferring 150 rather than pushing for 170
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Kane is getting hammered back home.

The team didn't fire a shot and are being criticized for being so flat and timid. If you leave it all out there and lose it's one thing, but to go out there and not put anything out there and go through the motions. That isn't acceptable.

It's like they didn't want to win and didn't know it was KO game. Just so flat throughout in all facets.

They were more engaged for the group stage matches, here they just watched the game go by.
 
LegendAli said:
He knew Pakistan are terrible chasers and that anything around 150 would mean curtains especially in a Semi Final.

He was playing for the sweet spot of 150 which they managed to get, it came back to haunt them in the end of course.

Like others said, a clueless player with no strategy in T20s.
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Kane and the team are getting hammered by the media and fans for showing little intent with the bat. Left 10-20 runs out there which could have made the difference.
 
Zaz said:
Just watched his innings again Pakistan bowled well but He seemed more intent on placing the ball for 2s and running hard for doubles than actually hitting boundaries

He was patting full tosses for 2s than going for it

The intent during the middle overs was poor from him and ended up costing the team vital runs
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Breaking down his innings just shows how bad it was. Basically 8 overs for 46 runs from Kane. That's unacceptable.
 
jnaveen1980 said:
In IPL his strike rate was like 93 or something. Also his captaincy was downright worst. SRH let Warner go and retained this guy.
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Yeah, I can't see any IPL teams offering him a contact. He's fallen off a hill since the tennis elbow injury, think in the previous IPL he was class and had found a new gear. All downhill since his injury.
 
Savak said:
I think NZ Cricket needs to make some tough decisions and in fact do a serious clean up of atleast the T-20 squad where they should follow England's template after the 2015 ODI WC. No matter whether NZ lost 1-2 early wickets but to score 46 runs of 42 deliveries in a WC semi-final was extremely poor. It is because of his lack of intent that NZ couldn't reach 170-180. He didn't even bother to up the ante when Daryll Mitchel was going great guns at the other end.

Its not like NZ didn't have any batting to come after him i.e. Jimmy Neesham, Mitch Satner, Tim Southee, Ish Sodi e.t.c. These guys are no mugs with the bat.

Its not like he doesn't have six hitting ability, he hit an impressive six of Wasim Jr. He did not play for the team in this knock.
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Said it before but we need to start going the Aussie route of dropping the big name ODI/Test players and bring in the specialist T20 players who play in T20 leagues around the world.

Imagine Munro at 3 instead of Kane and Bracewell down the order to shore up the batting.
 
Bahnz said:
Williamson was a fine T20 batsmen through most of his career, very handy at scoring at 7-8 rpo through the first 15 overs and setting things up for the power hitters to provide the finishing touches. He’s been totally cooked in all formats ever since his elbow issues became chronic in 2021.
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Yeah, I can't see Kane coming back. This might be it for him. Might be out of the team in all formats in the next year or so unless he clings on or selectors don't drop him despite the poor performances.
 
Aman said:
Kane and the team are getting hammered by the media and fans for showing little intent with the bat. Left 10-20 runs out there which could have made the difference.
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Interested to see how the NZ media and local fans are reacting, can't find anything on Youtube.

Do you have any links showing the local New Zealander's responses?
 
Here is what happened.

Kiwis in their minds, after playing a few overs, decided 150+ was a winning total.

They would go for 170 if Philips, Allen, Conway stayed around longer. When they departed early, 150 was it.

Williamson decided he will run 2's and get there rather than take risks for a 160. And so he did.

Massively flawed mindset this in T20s.

The right mindset is to risk 120 in order to reach 180 rather than risk nothing and reach 150.

But that's not the school of thought Williamson comes from.
 
Aman said:
Breaking down his innings just shows how bad it was. Basically 8 overs for 46 runs from Kane. That's unacceptable.
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I actually don’t think it was that bad an innings by his recent standards. NZ were reasonably well set for 160+ heading into the final 4 overs, and he was doing a good job of feeding Mitchell the strike, but Pakistan closed the innings out beautifully and Neesham and Mitchell just couldn’t get NZ there. Despite the wide margin of defeat, I think another 10 runs added to a better fielding effort would’ve made for a very close game. Two moments really stand out as being crucial: Conway’s run-out just as he was starting to middle it, and Conway’s drop of Babar in the first over. I think where Kane really let NZ down was with his captaincy. By opting defensive and only bowling his seamers in the power play, it meant that by the time the spinners came on they had no scoreboard pressure to work with. Pakistan could just knock them around for 6rpo and get home at a canter.
 
Should quiet T20I. Focus on Test and ODI. Can play the franchise t20 if he wants.
 
https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/crick...or-kane-williamson-to-declare-his-t20-innings

This might be heresy, but is it time for Kane Williamson to declare his T20 innings?

Marc Hinton is a senior sports writer for Stuff.

OPINION: One of the most enticing aspects, and also the most cruel, of sport is that it can render even the most brilliant of exponents impotent. Whether it be Father Time (undefeated, so we’re told) or the competitive landscape or the changing parameters of a code, there always comes a day when even the Muhammad Alis, the Michael Jordans, the Babe Ruths or the Usain Bolts can no longer dominate their domains.

It would appear we have reached that point with Kane Williamson and T20 cricket.

There is no doubt that Williamson is one of the greatest cricketers this country has ever produced, and the finest batsman of his generation. In the pantheon of Kiwi cricket he sits up there alongside Sir Richard Hadlee, Martin Crowe, Bert Sutcliffe and the rest of the flannelled geniuses who have graced our summers over the years.


Williamson has proven his versatility, too, playing all three forms of the game deep into his career, and excelling at them all with his exhilarating mixture of resoluteness, mental strength, strokeplay and high IQ batting.

He is not a bad captain either, succeeding the hyper-aggressive Brendon McCullum in his own style, on his own terms, but continuing the progress to guide New Zealand into one of the elite programmes in all three formats.

Yeah, the BCs have a wee bit of an issue converting finals appearances at World Cups into trophies being raised aloft, but New Zealand cricket fans should never take for granted the little matter that their Black Caps pretty much always give them a decent run for their money when they battle the world’s best on the global stage.

For his part, Williamson has been at the forefront of a golden period for the last handful of years.


But this is sport. Greatness is finite. Dominance fleeting. Williamson is 32 now, possibly past his prime, his peak as an international cricketer. And the recently concluded Black Caps T20 World Cup campaign almost certainly suggested that as great as Captain Kane is as a cricketer, that the hurly-burly of the 20-over bash and crash may no longer be the best format for his talents.

Williamson is an artist. The wicket his canvas. He likes to build an innings, to set foundations, then add layers. He sells his wicket dearly – a brilliant attribute in his sport. And he understands the sense in establishing yourself first, and then accelerating an innings once he has his eye in, and the nuances of the challenges sussed.

He is fabulously resolute. Relentlessly consistent. And the subtlety and simplicity of his strokeplay is, repeatedly, a sight to behold.


He has won countless matches for the Black Caps in his dozen years as an international cricketer, and has become a national treasure because his special talent is combined with a genuine level-headedness and lack of arrogance that makes him beloved.

All this is beyond dispute.

But it does not change one simple fact: the game of Twenty20 cricket may have passed him by. Or to put another, er, spin on it: the time may have come for captain Kane to declare his innings closed in the briefest form of the game.

It makes sense from a global view. Few top international cricketers now attempt to play all three formats.


The ones that do are right at the top of their craft. Virat Kohli, Babar Azam, Jonny Bairstow and David Warner. The differences in skills required are vast and the commitment to prepare and compete in all is massive.

Building the skillset to change a T20 game with your inventiveness and brute strength from the very first ball, yet at the same time retaining the discipline and doggedness to extend an innings over 40 or 50 overs, or even longer in the test format, challenges the very finest of this sport.

And Williamson’s body of work in the recent T20 World Cup in Australia suggests the time may have come for him to stand aside and narrow his focus a little.

The numbers weren’t horrific. He scored 178 runs in five innings at an average of 35.60 and strike-rate of 116.

The strike-rate is the key number here. That 116 was below his career number of 123. And his World Cup hit-rate was inflated rather by a knock of 61 off 35 balls against Ireland. Facing the heavyweights, he had 23 in 23 balls against the Aussies, 40 in 40 against England and then 46 off 42 in the semi against Pakistan. Just not quite good enough.

He was never able to put the foot on the accelerator to the extent required, most notably in the semi when New Zealand crawled their way to a woefully inadequate 152 for 4. The exit was far from his fault, but neither did he enhance prospects.

Maybe Williamson makes this decision himself (the lucrative T20 circuit renders that problematic), maybe the selectors do it for him, or maybe he finds a way to solve the issue. Don't discount the latter.

But something has to change. Williamson is too good to be a hindrance to his team. Too brilliant to be a handbrake. Sport is cruel. Even the greats become mortal.
 
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This is a good take on how switching between the formats is not easy. It requires skill to switch formats. If you are aggressive everywhere like Bairstow it is easier to adapt
 
Babar and Williamson struggle with strike rotation regularly.

Kohli may struggle occassionally but more often than not he will do well.
 
Talking about the criticism surrounding the lower strike-rates in T20s, Kane Williamson said: "Yeah, I think it is all about what the team needs and requires and navigating different situations and how that looks. As players, you always want to take the innings further and things like that. In T20s, it is pretty fickle in terms of its nature. Sometimes, the strike-rate is lower and sometimes it is higher. You factor in situations and the partnerships; the outcome is kind of what it is. You are always working hard to improve and sometimes you see valuable contributions which are of a lower strike-rate. On other days, there are higher strike-rates. It is very much situation dependent."

NDTV
 
MenInG said:
Talking about the criticism surrounding the lower strike-rates in T20s, Kane Williamson said: "Yeah, I think it is all about what the team needs and requires and navigating different situations and how that looks. As players, you always want to take the innings further and things like that. In T20s, it is pretty fickle in terms of its nature. Sometimes, the strike-rate is lower and sometimes it is higher. You factor in situations and the partnerships; the outcome is kind of what it is. You are always working hard to improve and sometimes you see valuable contributions which are of a lower strike-rate. On other days, there are higher strike-rates. It is very much situation dependent."

NDTV
Click to expand...

no kane, no. there might a match or two where low s/r anchor innings is needed but 8 out of 10 times you need aggressive batting. may be a team can afford one anchor batsmen if he is surrounded by all others who can hit from ball 1. But kane's T20I s/r is 123. that is not acceptable even for an anchor.
 
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