For most fans mostly and only concerned with the big, successful names in the game such as Rohit and Kohli, Bumrah, Smith and Babar, Kane Williamson is a gentle reminder that greatness extends beyond the Indian subcontinent.
To the opinion makers who think that Twitter or X, as it’s called nowadays, wouldn’t exist without their pearls of wisdom, Kane Williamson is an understudy in being an understated giant.
For all that he is- a not so giant looking cricketer who sports a huge beard and wields the bat quietly- Kane Williamson is the rescuer of a game that can often be rough and contain jagged edges.
Most of us will, rather unquestionably, for time immemorial, remember how Kohli sounded, the loud appeals of Shaheen Afridi or what light hearted banter Rohit amused the media presser with in the post-match process.
But rarely will there be those who’d remember fervently just how Williamson sounded. There’s so little that we hear from him.
The focus on just what his thoughts are or what anxieties on the ground might he be feeling is ever so less; cricket content nowadays has familiarised itself with spicy stuff at times overcooked and overdone at the pretext of making an already entertaining sport more entertaining.
Yet, what one will take time to forget and it won’t be so easy, will be the number of times Kane Williamson’s bat produced its quintessential magic on the 22 yards. What’ll be even more difficult would be to bury Williamson’s genius under the hugely bigoted bias that affords the tag of greatness only to his successful pears. In an age where cricket requires- not that it was ever mandated- cricketers to be showmen, Kane Williamson is a simpleton.
In an era where flat tracks persist with personal milestones, Williamson’s essence is about individual genius contributing to a collective cause. Hardly has one seen a cricketer so utterly unbothered whether his heroics are narrated long after he’s done his part ever so quietly for the welfare of the team.
This year alone, Kane Williamson has hit 3 Test hundreds.
That may be a tenth of his overall Test tally, but his effort immediately soars forming a bigger picture when you realise he’s struck three tons from the four tests that he’s played, including two back-to-back hundreds.
Earlier at the Bay Oval in February, Kane Williamson polished off the Proteas akin to a nutritionist gobbling fruit for early morning breakfast.
And yet, his 118 and 109 made far less noise than some of other stroke makers crafting centuries in other parts of the world.
Not that at Seddon Park Williamson’s bat had turned quieter; he remained unbeaten and a dauntless force scoring a 133 standing at the wicket for 260 deliveries.
After a few missed chances against the Aussies, which included a bizarre run out for naught, Kane Williamson scored a watchful 51 most recently (Hagley Oval) and reminded us that he’s here to stay and very much in the mood.
But rather absurdly, just when it seemed the old fighting spirit was rising to the fore, the two match series came to a halt with Aussies clinching the contests 2-0.
Would a third match in the series have caused a riot or been a crime against humanity is something the storekeepers of Cricket’s collective conscience need to answer.
How, with much respect, was the one-sided India-England series that featured 5 Tests worthy of being given the extended run (that it got) and not the Australia-BlackCaps contests?
Regardless, Williamson in 2024 is almost next to 500 runs.
The previous year he scored nearly 700. But what’s rather remarkable is that 7 of his 32 test career tons have come in a space of 11 Tests, which is about 21 innings.
For someone who’s clearly scoring a Test hundred in every third inning out there, is enough being done to celebrate his talent? Is enough game time being afforded to a name whose mere presence raises the game?
Yet, beyond the haves and have-nots and the missed chances or failed opportunities, Kane Williamson serves a definitive lesson in humility.
He won countless hearts recently when he declared plainly that he’s still learning the art of batting.
That, mind you, was after having played his 100th Test with some 8,700 plus runs already to his name.