September 7, 2024

Kane Williamson draws inspiration from Joe Root in the Fab Four race

The debate over who is the best among Kane Williamson, Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, and Joe Root is likely nearing its end.

However, England’s Joe Root, who is currently setting records, has outperformed his peers with his outstanding form. Former England captains like Alastair Cook and Michael Vaughan believe that at 33, Root has the advantage of age and could surpass Sachin Tendulkar’s record for the most Test runs. Currently ranked seventh on the all-time Test run-scorer list, Root has a good chance to achieve this milestone, given the number of Test matches England plays.

Since 2020, Root has been a standout performer. By the end of 2020, he had 17 Test centuries—10 fewer than Virat Kohli’s 27, nine fewer than Steve Smith’s 26, and six fewer than Kane Williamson. However, since early 2021, Root has scored 17 additional centuries, while Kohli has added just two and Smith six. Williamson has hit nine centuries in this period, but with only 18 Tests compared to Root’s 48, his output has been less frequent.

On Monday at the Greater Noida Sports Complex, Williamson will return to Test cricket for the first time in six months. During this time, Root is in the midst of his sixth Test. With New Zealand scheduled to play nine Tests over the next three months, Williamson will have ample opportunities to capitalize on this period.

The humble Williamson smiles when asked about the Fab Four and Root’s recent performance.

“He’s just been something else for a period of time,” says Williamson. “Obviously, a lot of the discussion is going on around what he might be able to achieve in a number of years.”

“He (Root) has been phenomenal and obviously a big fan of his and have enjoyed watching not just his, but obviously those other guys (Kohli and Smith). Amazing players that have all sort of moved the game forward in a big way,” he added.

The final stage of the World Test Championship (WTC) will also shape the future of today’s cricketing legends. While Kohli and Smith are no longer the prolific run-scorers they once were, they have opportunities to revitalize their careers. If he is available, Kohli has 10 Tests to regain his form, which has been lacking since 2019. The upcoming Border-Gavaskar series will be a key chance for Smith to prove his skill, as he is now playing as an opener.

The challenge of the subcontinent

Since his Test debut in Ahmedabad against India in 2010, Williamson has averaged 48.85 in the subcontinent, outperforming Steve Smith (47.83) and Joe Root (46.86). Nevertheless, Williamson still finds playing in the subcontinent to be consistently challenging.

“It’s a tough challenge whenever you play in these parts of the world,” he says. “We’re absolutely going to be challenged in a number of ways. I think it’s important for us as a team to look to grow throughout, pick up the experiences that we’re going to have over the next sort of two and half months and it would be better for the team.”

Williamson believes that playing in the subcontinent will always be challenging, and even after multiple visits, players must continuously adapt their game.

“I think it’s absolutely about trying to adjust your game because we’re not here consistently in this format, and it goes quite long intervals of not playing here. It is sort of familiarising yourself again,” he explains.

“For us, our last Test Match was sort of 6 months ago. For now, as a team it’s really good connecting as a red ball group and looking to apply our skills, our plans as well as we can. Obviously, it would be different.”

The WTC competition

Under Williamson’s leadership, New Zealand won the first WTC title in 2021 by defeating India by eight wickets in Southampton.

New Zealand is third on the WTC points table, behind Australia and India. The next three months will determine if the former champions will earn a spot in their second final at the iconic Lord’s.

“In some ways, it’s like a tournament sport, isn’t it? Even though it’s over a longer period of time,” says Williamson on WTC.

“The context around Test cricket with the Test Championship is really key and brought out a lot of really exciting games. And so naturally, having six Test matches together is a big part of our Test championship calendar, and it is something we’re really excited about. You know, such a volume of Test cricket that we don’t usually get, and that too obviously in this part of the world.”

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