Kane Williamson's 3 best moments as captain of New Zealand
After the disastrous 2024 T20 World Cup campaign, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson has stepped down from captaincy in the white-ball format. In addition, the former Kiwi captain turned down New Zealand's central contract to prolong his international career.
However, the right-handed batter has stated that he would be open to considering taking a central contract in the future. Meanwhile, in a statement released by New Zealand Cricket, Kane Williamson said:
“Helping push the team forward across the formats is something I’m very passionate about and something I want to keep contributing towards. However, pursuing an overseas opportunity during the New Zealand summer means I’m unable to accept a central contract offer.”
Notably, two years ago, Williamson resigned from his position as captain of the red-ball format. The Black Caps won 22 Test matches out of 40 during his leadership. He also led New Zealand in 91 ODIs and 75 T20Is.
New Zealand have had a golden period under Williamson in the ICC tournament. Though he wasn’t able to take them over the line in the white-ball championship, the Black Caps played some amazing cricket when the 33-year-old was at the helm of things.
As Kane Williamson steps down from the role of captain, in this article, we will look at his three best moments while leading the Black Caps.
#3 Guiding New Zealand to the 2021 T20 World Cup final
New Zealand didn’t have a great start to the 2021 T20 World Cup held in Oman and the UAE, as they lost their opening match against Pakistan. However, the Black Caps came back strongly and won their last four group matches to qualify for the semi-final. Kane Williamson’s side defeated England in the semi-final and faced the Australian team in the final.
Williamson was at his very best on the night of the final, scoring 85 runs off 48 balls to take his side to a decent total of 172 runs. However, Mitchell Marsh was on fire for Australia and took his over the line, with seven balls remaining.
Though Williamson couldn’t get his team over the line, he became the first New Zealand captain to reach the final of the T20 World Cup.
#2 Almost taking New Zealand to a victory in the 2019 ODI World Cup final
After losing the 2015 ODI World Cup final, the Black Caps had another chance at lifting the trophy in 2019. Batting first, New Zealand scored 241 runs. In response, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler led the way for England. However, when England needed to score 15 runs in the final over, the match went to the Super Over, courtesy of Ben Stokes' brilliance and some controversial calls.
In the Super Over, England scored 15 runs, and in response, the Black Caps also scored the same amount of runs. However, unfortunately for New Zealand, they lost the match as England had hit more boundaries compared to the Kiwis.
It was a moment of heartbreak for New Zealand fans. However, Kane Williamson was praised by experts worldwide for leading his side to the final. Meanwhile, he also won the Player of the Tournament award.
#1 New Zealand won the inaugural World Test Championship under Kane Williamson's guidance
Perhaps one of the greatest moments in the history of New Zealand cricket was when they won the World Test Championship under Kane Williamson's leadership. The Black Caps dominated the match against India as Virat Kohli’s team never looked in the game and eventually lost the match by eight wickets.
Kyle Jamieson was the Player of the Match as he took seven wickets in two innings combined. Meanwhile, the two legends of New Zealand cricket, Williamson (52) and Ross Taylor (47) remained unbeaten to guide their team to a win.
While serving as the captain of the New Zealand team, Kane Williamson experienced many lifetime memories, but winning the inaugural ICC World Test Championship with his team was probably the best.