Williamson stakes claim as cricket’s unsmiling assassin
‘‘He smiled a couple of times.’’
As if we needed another reminder of how vital Kane Williamson is to New Zealand’s Cricket World Cup campaign.
And how utterly unaffected he is by his match-winning deeds or the pressure of the big show on home soil.
‘‘He smiled a couple of times,’’ coach Mike Hesson said of Williamson’s low key reaction amid the bedlam in the Black Caps’ dugout, following his straight six off Australia’s Pat Cummins to seal victory by one wicket on Saturday.
The much-discussed 64m longon boundary helped, but it still took courage, confidence and veins of ice to stand and deliver to a 150kmh bowler with one wicket standing and six runs required.
‘‘We had a brief chat in the dugout and said he’s probably got to get them all himself, this over ideally. The field was set out square so he was probably expecting something a bit shorter. To go down the line and pick it up like that showed a heck of a lot of guts and skill. He’s a class player,’’ Hesson said.
The crowd of 40,053 went berserk, the roar probably heard several post codes away. While Williamson remained poker faced, another job done, his anxious team-mates leapt about and embraced.
the points – and don’t forget the ChappellHadlee Trophy – but Australia are still the team to beat.
‘‘It was just pure elation, turning to the rest of the team and seeing the joy in their faces was pretty special,’’ the coach said.
Williamson watched eight wickets tumble while he crafted his unbeaten 45 off 42 balls, seeing off a rampant Mitchell Starc and ticking it over against Cummins and Mitchell Johnson.
Later he was more animated discussing his mate Trent Boult’s man of the match 5-27, and a curious question about his own beard growth. He thanked the inquisitor and replied: ‘‘It came from the chin, and the cheek area,’’ adding he was inspired by his Knights team-mate Anton Devcich.
Of his own batting, Williamson paid tribute to Boult. Williamson gambled on taking a single off Starc with seven required, exposing Adam Milne then Tim Southee who were skittled by inswingers in successive balls.
‘‘Every run was significant and we still had three wickets left so I thought it would be OK. Obviously it was pretty tough and it was great that Trent came out and held that nerve to keep out two balls.’’
And, as they say, a win is a win. That’s all that mattered for Williamson.
‘‘In tournament sport it doesn’t really matter how you get over the line as long as you do it. Obviously it was a bit of a scrap but it was nice to get the win.’’