Williamson leads, Root follows well behind
As Kane Williamson and Joe Root walked to the centre of a sundrenched Eden Park on Thursday, no one could have predicted how one-sided this bout between two cricketing heavyweights would become.
When rain swept in just before
5pm on the second day of the first test, just 113 overs old, New Zealand’s captain was so far ahead of his rival on points the judges’ scores may not have been necessary.
This was a pair of 27-year-olds whose career statistics and rapid progression had mirrored the other so uncannily it looked too close to call in the leadup to this pink ball test. Each ranked three and four in the world and averaging 50-plus for their careers, as captain even better: Root 55.35 from 12 tests in charge and Williamson 56.04 from
15 tests at the helm. Williamson is even returning to Root’s home county, Yorkshire, for another season.
But from the moment Root called incorrectly to Williamson’s coin flip, and the home skipper elected to bowl first, it was one-way traffic across the first five sessions in this influential contest.
Eyebrows were raised, and Root said he would have batted first. Williamson agonised over the decision but went with his gut, hoping there would be something in the drop-in pitch.
A swing bowling masterclass in broad daylight from Trent Boult, backed up Tim Southee, put an exclamation mark on Williamson’s
decision. So too did an inept England batting display, shot out for 58, as their remarkable run of 11 overseas tests without a win looked set to extend.
A creasebound Root drove at a pinpoint Boult inswinger, playing the first line as his eyes lit up at a full one. It was a huge moment, Root facing just his sixth delivery, coming off centuries in the fourth ODI and final warmup match in Hamilton.
When England’s bowlers took their turn the ball barely swung first up, even for the master, James Anderson. Root persuaded the umpires to change it. Still nothing. A horror day worsened for the touring skipper.
Williamson did his thing, playing dead straight and as late as possible, not lunging or prodding like England’s batsmen. The lack of swing helped; anything full was driven masterfully and anything wide cut savagely.
Then the big moment, with Williamson on 64, ahead of England’s total by himself.
Chris Woakes claimed he’d got a touch on a Ross Taylor drive with Williamson well out, and the halfhearted run out appeal went upstairs. Woakes was adamant and Root backed his bowler. Williamson stood firm, eyeballing the pair and not budging in a brief, tense confrontation. No way is anyone taking the fielder’s word these days.
Television replays looked close, but inconclusive and Williamson remained, as Woakes had his say again and Root remonstrated with umpire Bruce Oxenford. More points to Williamson, and he finished 91 not out at stumps.
The second new ball finally hooped around on day two but the Black Caps had bolted with Williamson in the saddle. The skipper allowed himself an understated fist pump as moved clear of the late Martin Crowe and Taylor’s record mark of 17 test centuries.
When Anderson finally swung one past Williamson’s broad bat, he was 102 and the lead was nearing 200. Amid the rain showers, Root will need something phenomenal to bounce off the ropes back into this heavyweight contest against his statistical twin.