Kane Williamson hasn’t let injuries curtail his test tons collection
If recent history is any guide, Kane Williamson missing some or all of the T20 series against Australia could almost be cherished by Black Caps fans. The New Zealand white-ball captain is set to sit out games against their trans-Tasman rivals later this month with wife Sarah expecting their third child.
While it’s a keenly-anticipated threegame series ahead of this year’s World Cup, it doesn’t hold the same attraction for hardcore New Zealand cricket fans as the twotest series which follows.
Williamson is expected to be available for those two tests - the first starting at the Basin Reserve in Wellington on February 29 - and has shown that he’s remarkably adept at finding his top form after a break.
The 33-year-old made centuries in both innings of the first test against
South Africa in Mount Maunganui this week - taking his tally of test tons to 31.
They came after a right hamstring problem ruled him out part-way through the second of five scheduled Twenty20 internationals versus Pakistan in January.
He missed the remaining three matches too, but didn’t miss a beat in making 118 and 109 in New Zealand’s big victory at Bay Oval. Only 12 batters have made more tons in test history than Williamson, and all have played more test than the New Zealander’s 97.
Injuries are more regularly sidelining the most prolific test run-scorer in New Zealand cricket history. But Williamson’s famed work ethic and gluttony for net practice when sidelined appears to ensure he’s perfectly placed to fill his boots on return.
An elbow injury which forced Williamson to miss the second test in India at the end of 2021 also forced his unavailability for four home summer tests that season.
Covid-19 ruled him out of one of the three tests in his comeback series in England, but since that tour, the righthander has been on a tear in tests, starting with an unbeaten double ton versus Pakistan in Karachi.
In his last six tests, Williamson has had scores of 4, 132, 1, 121 no, 215, 104, 11, 13, 11, 118 and 109 - oh, and during that spell, he ruptured the ACL in his right knee at the start of the IPL season.
That looked like keeping him out of the ODI World Cup six weeks later, but he recovered to average 85.33 at the tournament - despite missing another string of games with a broken thumb.
Since Boxing Day 2022, Williamson has notched seven test tons - the next best in the international five-day arena have been three by Usman Khawaja, Angelo Mathews, Najmul Hossain Shanto and Steve Smith.
The latter in that list is now the only currently active player with more test centuries than Williamson - setting up a fascinating sub-plot to the upcoming tests at the Basin Reserve and Hagley Oval.
Williamson’s famed work ethic and gluttony for net practice when sidelined appears to ensure he’s perfectly placed to fill his boots on return.