[Watch] New Zealand captain Kane Williamson poses with WTC mace
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has uploaded a video of New Zealand captain Kane Williamson smiling for the cameras while posing with the World Test Championship (WTC) mace.
New Zealand lifted their first ICC trophy in over two decades when they defeated India by eight wickets in the WTC final in Southampton on Wednesday. The Black Caps’ previous ICC triumph also came against India when a Stephen Fleming-led side won the Champions Trophy in 2000.
On Friday, the ICC shared a video with behind-the-scenes footage of Williamson posing with the WTC mace. ICC uploaded the video with the caption:
“Kane Williamson has a new best friend. Take a behind the scenes look as the @BLACKCAPS skipper smiles for the cameras with the #WTC21 Final mace.”
Kane Williamson led from the front as he scored an unbeaten 52 to guide the Kiwis home while chasing139. The New Zealand captain featured in an unbroken 96-run stand with veteran batsman Ross Taylor (47*).
Fast bowler Kyle Jamieson was the star of the show for New Zealand as he picked up seven wickets in the WTC final, including five in the first innings. He dismissed Indian captain Virat Kohli in both innings.
Kane Williamson happy with one-off WTC final
While losing skipper Kohli batted for a multi-game final to decide the winner of the WTC, Williamson expressed satisfaction with the one-off format. Speaking at a post-match conference, the Kiwi captain said:
"I suppose the exciting part of a final is that anything can happen. We know how fickle cricket is and we have seen in other competitions, other World Cups and all other bits and pieces. The one-off factor brings a unique dynamic which does make it exciting."
Williamson added:
"On any given day, anything can happen. I suppose there are arguments for both sides and the challenge would be scheduling that (three-match WTC) series amongst lot of cricket that is already on. The more cricket you have in a series, the more you find out and the more you reveal. But it was an exciting game. It was the first time, both teams were fully geared up for it and it was a brilliant game of cricket."
Kane Williamson has earned massive praise from the cricketing fraternity in the wake of New Zealand’s WTC final win. The Kiwi triumph comes two years after the Black Caps were denied the ODI World Cup trophy on the basis of a bizarre boundary count rule.