It would be wrong to say that Kane Williamson looked like a guy making up for lost time on day one in Christchurch, so unhurried was the way he compiled 93 runs. And given his famous ego-free outlook, claiming it was driven by some kind of inner turmoil about missing New Zealand’s historic win in India would be a stretch too.
But given his return from a groin injury for this series opener against England nudged out Will Young – player of the series in that 3-0 triumph – it was still a timely performance. Not that anyone in New Zealand was seriously quibbling, with Williamson the country’s record run-scorer. Judging by Young’s relaxed demeanour at training during the build-up, that one-in-all-in Kiwi spirit is very real.
Even missing out on what would have been a 33rd Test century – caught at backward point off Gus Atkinson trying to cut a ball that gripped and bounced – drew a typically measured response from Williamson at stumps.
“The runs are the team’s runs, you know?” he said. “Whether it’s [93] or more – a lot more is obviously the desired result – it is what it is. On a surface like that you ride a bit of luck as well. I played and missed a bit. That’s the nature of the beast.”
Either way, having arrived two overs into the start of the day, Williamson’s 197-ball stay provided the glue for New Zealand’s first innings; one half of three 50-plus stands alongside Tom Latham, Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell. It was vintage stuff from the 34-year-old, encapsulated by an early battle with Brydon Carse that saw him jackknifed by one of the midriff and respond with two glossy fours.
Williamson said: “He’s a nice bowler, bowls a heavy ball and has really good skills to actually get the ball to shape away. English bowlers are so used to that with the conditions that they have back home and the skillsets that they possess. They all come in and bowl with really good energy and he certainly did that too.”
On Bashir, with whom he enjoyed a cat- and-mouse duel that saw the bad balls put away but also the odd play and miss, Williamson added: “He did a fantastic job into the wind. The way he did that and picked up a few wickets [four for 69 from 20 overs] was excellent. He got a bit of bounce as a tall guy and made use of it.”
As the opening exchanges were unfolding, Durham’s Ollie Robinson was finally en route to New Zealand after England officially confirmed the wicketkeeper’s call-up. Robinson, 25 and having averaged 42 in first-class cricket since the start of 2022, replaces Jordan Cox after the fractured thumb he suffered in Queenstown.
All being well, Robinson should arrive on Saturday and be in contention for a possible debut in the second Test at Wellington that starts on 6 December.
