The Calm Captain who stabilizes the New Zealand Cricket Ship

I do not think there is a cricket fan who has forgotten the One Day Cricket World Cup final which was held at Lord’s Ground in England about two years ago. It was a very important day in the history of cricket because it was the first and only time that England, the birthplace of cricket, won the World Cup. It was an extremely difficult victory. Because in this match the two teams were tied on 241 runs at the end of the match, resulting in a super over being played to break the tie. But even there the match was tied as England 15/0, New Zealand 15/1. So, according to the “Boundary countback rule” (26 – 17), England won the match.

As things turned out, there was something about England winning more world attention than winning the World Cup. That was Kane Williamson, the captain of New Zealand, England’s rival team. Even when his team lost, his smile captivated the world. This is real sportsmanship. Of course, it was a big loss but he realized that it was not their day and that his team had done their best. He smiled calmly, not blaming anyone or the rules for their defeat. He acknowledged that England deserved the victory, but said that was not the case. No matter how much they lost on one end because on the other end they had already won millions of fans. It looked like everyone stood for King Kane.

Kane Staurt Williamson was born on August 8, 1990 in Tauranga, New Zealand. He was born into a family with a sporting background, where his father a cricket player and mother a basketball player. His sisters excelled in the sport of volleyball. At his young age itself, he started showing features of his bright sporting future. Williamson made his Test debut in 2010 against India. He made his ODI debut against India in 2010. He made his T20I debut in 2011 against Zimbabwe. Wearing a No. 22 T-shirt, he plays in ODIs and T20Is, as a right-handed batsman and a right-arm off spin bowler. However, his role was most prominent as a batsman. Williamson, who has also excelled in domestic competitions, has represented Sanrisers Hyderabad in the IPL since 2015. He has played 85 Tests, 151 ODIs and 67 T20Is. His batting average is 53.95 in Tests, 47.48 in OIDs and 31.66 in T20Is. His bowling average is 40.23 in Tests, 35.40 in OIDs and 27.33 in T20Is.

Williamson became a strategic and patient captain of the New Zealand team after Brendon McCullum retired from all formats of international cricket in 2016 and he has led all formats of national cricket teams in New Zealand to date. He has also been the captain of the Sunrises Hyderabad team since 2018. At the 2019 World Cup, New Zealand played under his captaincy. There he became the man of the match, becoming the tournament’s top scorer. There, he scored the highest number of runs as a captain in a single world cup series. It was 578 runs.

Truly, Williamson is loved by everyone because of his serenity on and off the field. Being a kind and humble player, he never loses his coolness and meanwhile does his job properly. That is why he is definitely a beloved character among all cricketers as well as cricket fans. We can’t forget how Sri lankan fans celebrated his 29th birthday with him during the warm-up. In Johnston’s words, “he’s not only a good player, he’s a good guy.”