Kane Williamson is widely considered as one of New Zealand’s top cricketers. He’s been compared to Martin Crowe, Stephen Fleming, and other legendary players. This Kiwi skipper has already batted his way to the top of the game, despite having a long career ahead of him. In the standard style of the game, he has the fastest 6,000 runs. Many people were not surprised by his interest in cricket because he was born into a family where sports were a way of life. His interest in the game was undoubtedly influenced by his genes, which were passed on to him by his father, who played under-17 and club cricket in his youth. He is a right-handed batsman who even bowls off-spin sometimes.His methodical approach was initially seen as a flaw, but he quickly established himself as the team’s rock. Despite a shaky start in international cricket, Williamson has not only smashed but also set some new milestones. To date, he is the youngest player from New Zealand to score a century. Observers conclude that if he retains his style and consistency on the pitch, he might very well retire with the most runs scored by any New Zealand batsman in history.Since former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum retired from international cricket, he was a natural choice for the captaincy due to his cool yet determined demeanour on the field.
Childhood and Puberty
Kane Williamson was born in Tauranga, New Zealand’s Bay of Plenty district, on August 8, 1990, to Sandra and Brett Williamson. Anna, Sophie, and Kylie, his three older sisters, as well as his twin brother Logan, raised him.
In the Williamson household, athletics were considered a way of life. Brett Williamson was a member of a cricket team. Sandra, Kane’s mother, was a professional basketball player. Kane’s sisters were both tennis players. As the twins entered the picture, Brett flipped gears and became their cricket coach.
Williamson went to ‘Pillans Point Primary School’ before moving on to ‘Otumoetai Intermediate School.’ Eventually, he received his diploma from ‘Tauranga Boys’ College.’ Since the beginning of his childhood, it was as though the world had conspired to place him in the right place at the right time. ‘Pillans Point’ was not your typical classroom. It had nine in-house teams and was the first school in the district with a cricket curriculum.
Williamson was also playing representative cricket at the age of 14. When he was 16, he began playing first-class cricket for the Bay of Plenty and Northern District senior teams, winning the ‘State Championship’ in 2007–2008. Williamson had amassed a remarkable total of 40 centuries before ever leaving college.
At the age of 17, he captained the New Zealand under-19 cricket team to the 2008 ‘World Cup’ semifinals in Malaysia, where they were defeated by India.
Career
He made his international debut in August 2010, but it was a disastrous one-day international (ODI) debut in Sri Lanka, where he was dismissed for a ninth-ball “duck” in a tri-series tournament against India. Williamson’s next innings was cut short when he was dismissed for a second-ball “duck” against Sri Lanka. Things seemed bleak for this 20-year-old rookie after two straight “ducks.”
His followers didn’t have to wait long to be saddened. Williamson bounced back from his previous defeats in October 2010 by scoring his first century against Bangladesh in an ODI series that was otherwise a complete disaster for the Kiwis. The century earned him a spot in the Test squad for the following year. A month back, in the presence of his hero, Sachin Tendulkar, he scored his first Test century against India. With his 131 runs in that Test match, he became just the eighth New Zealander to score a century on his Test debut.
A failing New Zealand squad had two major efforts in 2012, all thanks to two outstanding Test innings from this young striker. Williamson scored a huge 135 runs to help his side win in Colombo against the Sri Lankan team. He also displayed true grit in his match against South African attacker Dale Steyn, scoring an unbeaten 102 runs while chasing down a massive 389-run target.
Williamson soared to new heights in all aspects of the game in 2014. He scored two centuries in a three-match Test series against the West Indies, giving New Zealand a historic victory away from home. With 413 runs in the season, he was named player of the series. In a Test match against Sri Lanka the same year, he and BJ Watling set a record partnership of 365 runs.
He set a record by scoring five consecutive 50s in an ODI series against India in 2014, being just the second player in history (after Pakistan’s Yasir Hameed) to do so. He also became the fourth New Zealander to notch five or more straight 50-plus scores in one-day internationals.
He continued to set records after records, just as the world felt he couldn’t do any better. He became the first-ever “Blackcap” batsman to score more than 2,000 runs in a year in 2015, scoring a total of 2,633 runs in all formats. It elevated him to the level of legends like Ricky Ponting and Kumar Sangakakara. That year, he tied for the most Test centuries with Steven Smith, with five. He ended the year with a perfect 242 in Wellington. At ‘Lord’s,’ as well as in Brisbane, Perth, and Hamilton, he racked up centuries.
About the fact that the New Zealand team did not do well at the 2015 ‘World Cup,’ Williamson’s undefeated 45 and scoring “sixer” against Australia at ‘Eden Park’ drew attention to the rising star.
The intense workload of captaincy fell on his young shoulders in 2016, but his cool and relaxed demeanour, as well as his ability to handle pressure, made the move seem smoother than it was. In the long form of the game, he managed to set records. He became the youngest batsman to score a century against any Test-playing nation after his century against Zimbabwe that year, and he did so in the fewest number of innings.
For the 2015 ‘Indian Premier League,’ Williamson was signed by ‘Sunrisers Hyderabad’ (IPL). In 2016, he did, however, play his first ‘IPL’ games. He was retained by the team for the next two years, and he was appointed captain of the ‘Sunrisers Hyderabad’ in 2018. He took the squad all the way to the playoffs, where they were defeated by the ‘Chennai Super Kings.’
In 2011, he joined ‘Gloucestershire’, an English county cricket team. In 2013, he signed with ‘Yorkshire,’ and in 2014, he won the ‘County Championship.’
In the 2019 ‘World Cup,’ he holds the captain’s hat for the Kiwis.
Achievements & Awards
In 2015, he was named the ‘Bayleys Real Estate Sportsman of the Year’ at the ‘Bay of Plenty Sports Awards.’
Kane was ranked number one in the world Test rankings by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2015.
Williamson made history in 2018 when he became the first New Zealander to reach 900 rating points in the ‘ICC’ Test rankings.
For scoring the most runs in the 2018 ‘IPL’ season, he was awarded the ‘Orange Cup.’
In 2019, he is the world’s second-best batsman, behind only India’s Virat Kohli, the new world number one.