The big screen of the ‘Home of Cricket’ showed 2 runs required from 1 ball. The lanky English pacer Jofra Archer steamed in from over the wicket from the Nursery end. The iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground has witnessed a lot of drama on the D-day. That Trent Boult catch, that overthrow ricocheting to the boundary fence off the splice of the diving Ben Stokes’ bat, Kumar Dharmasena’s controversial decision and everything. The atmosphere was truly electrifying. The energy was palpable.
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Archer rightly spotted New Zealand batter Martin Guptill to open his front leg. He cleverly hurled the ball on a full length, targeting his pads. Guptill shuffled a bit too far and was deterred from a heave. He gently flicked it towards deep midwicket. Jason Roy sprinted to collect the ball. The collection was clean, but the throw was slightly to the right of Jos Buttler, covering the keeper’s end. Guptill completed the first run and skedaddled to the other end for the glory run.
2019 heartbreak
Buttler collected it and flicked the bails off with a dive. Ian Smith, the legendary Kiwi cricketer, yelled behind the microphone. “England have won the World Cup. By the barest of margins, by the barest of all margins”.
English cricketers were over the moon for all the reasons. First cricket World Cup victory and that too at home. Agony was oozing in the New Zealand camp. You can not afford to have a wooden spoon based on boundary count after a gruelling battle in a World Cup final. But one man took all the spotlight away. He was standing, wearing a wry smile on his face and that photo instantly became viral on social media.
Now, it has been a cosmopolitan tradition to celebrate a tragic hero, but for Kane Williamson, it was not just about following that trend. He is somebody who got close to the silverware in 2015, but Australia denied him. In 2019, even after leaving no stones unturned, that “barest of margins” took the much-coveted trophy away from him.
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What was more special about 2019 was his personal performance. He finished the tournament as the fourth-highest run-getter with 578 runs. Rohit Sharma (648), David Warner (647) and Shakib Al Hasan (606) had bettered him in this aspect. A couple of hundreds in back-to-back games against South Africa and West Indies, a crucial 67 against India in the semi-final, were some of his usual contributions.
As far as the records are concerned, he is the highest run-getter for New Zealand in the 50-overs World Cup with 1,167 runs, toppling Stephen Fleming (1,075). However, destiny didn’t reward the most loved guy on the cricket field, and he remains bereft of a world title in one-day cricket.
However, luck smiled on him in the purest format of the game. The ascetic guy from Tauranga finally got the taste of being a world champion. The iconic Lord’s took the deserving title away from him, but two years later, Southampton crowned him. The most fitting thing about that World Test Championship victory was Williamson remaining unbeaten with 52 when Ross Taylor hit the winning runs. He remained pivotal in that victory with his 49 in the first innings.
The red-ball format has rewarded Williamson the most. The journey started at Ahmedabad when he glanced Zaheer Khan through fine leg to get to a Test hundred on debut. His idol, Sachin Tendulkar, was in the opposition and even applauded the 20-year-old batter. After that, he has shattered record after record in Tests.
An incredible record
He is currently the highest run-getter for the BlackCaps in Test cricket. His 9,515 runs stand head and shoulders above the next best, Taylor (7,683). He has scored those runs at an average of 54.06 – the best among all Kiwi batters who have scored at least 1,000 runs.
In the 21st century, Test matches have become more result-oriented and a batter is often recognised for his match-winning abilities. Numbers show that 16 batters have breached the 5,000-run mark in winning causes in this format. Williamson boasts the highest batting average (81.12) among them. The likes of Kumar Sangakkara (71.69), Steve Waugh (69.46), Rahul Dravid (64.78) and Mahela Jayawardene (64.66) come behind him.
Williamson is often criticised for his batting failure in England and India. In both countries, he averages below 35. But that does not take away the fact that he is a legendary player at home. Many batters pile up runs in the conditions they are most familiar with, but Williamson has taken that to a different level. His home Test average (65.76) is just behind the iconic Don Bradman (98.22) and Sir Garfield Sobers.
The fourth innings of Test cricket is an acid test for the batters. Pressure mounts up, pitch deteriorates and only those thrive whose technique is par excellence. Scoring 5 centuries, Williamson is the joint most centurions in that innings with Younis Khan of Pakistan.
Now, citing one record will blend both Test and ODI. The batters who have scored a hundred in both these formats against all Test-playing nations are only three. Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting and Williamson are the names.
For somebody as meticulous as Williamson, the purest format would have been the most fitting platform to get rewarded. The game has rewarded the saint in many ways. He touched his first ICC trophy in this format, became the best batter of his country, having superior records to many and whatnot? What about T20? Somebody with 2,575 runs, being the second-highest run getter of his country in that format, can’t be deemed as a bad one, but the strike rate of 123.08 does not speak in his favour. But we have to remember that this technically solid batter took the orange cap in the 2018 IPL with 735 runs.
Before 2021, the most befitting lines for Williamson would have been “I tried so hard, got so far. In the end, it doesn’t even matter”. But that Test championship changed the context materially. What if that triumph was not there? It would certainly not have ‘mattered’. The love he got across the globe throughout his career, the love he is getting from the fans now, is a testament to the phrase that the nice guys do not always finish last.
One nice guy hung up his boots. Leaving the mark, the legacy and a plethora of inspiration for the next generation. Adiós, Kane!
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