5 things that indicate Kane Williamson is going to be the greatest Test batsman of his generation

What does it entail, being the greatest Test batsman? Does it include blood, sweat and tears? Does it include broken bones, cramps, agony-laden screams, celebrations drenched in expletives, leaps of authority, loud roars, fist pumping and lots of glove-love? But, there is one man, who doesn’t look like any of it.There is one young cricketer, with the look of velvet-cloaked steel, disguised almost as if it is embarrassed of its strength, who could be the greatest Test batsman of his generation.Kane Williamson isn’t the quintessential ‘great cricketer’. He doesn’t have the swag of Viv Richards, the menacing presence of Jacques Kallis, the enterprise of AB de Villiers, the immaculateness of Sachin Tendulkar, the fiery sparks of Brian Lara in the flow.Williamson doesn’t have the silken flamboyance of Virat Kohli, the unconventional arrogance of Steve Smith’s batting, the restless energy of Joe Root. Slowly but surely, he is climbing up one step at a time in one of the most competitive generations, piling on the runs.Here, we look at 5 indicators of his greatness that will probably make him the best of his generation.

#1 The averages over the last two years

Since the beginning of 2014, Williamson averages 78.34 in Tests, comfortably ahead of his contemporaries. He is the only batsman to average over 60 in Tests and ODIs across the last two years, a true indicator of his versatility.

He has dragged his career Test average close to 50, from mid-thirties before 2014, a sign of consistency over a reasonably long period of time. In the last two years, Williamson has scored 1961 runs in 30 innings.

Compared to David Warner, the most prolific run-scorer during this period, Williamson has just 14 50 plus scores, where Warner has 22. Once again it shows that although Williamson has fewer big innings, he scores consistently to have an average that is 13 higher than that of Warner, explaining why he is the backbone of his team.

Also, in his career, Williamson boasts of a stunning average of 83 in the third match of a series, usually a crucial match or a decider, a high stakes game. He also has 12 50 plus scores in 31 innings of the first match of a series, showing that he is an impact player.

That is further proven by the fact that in wins, Williamson averages 75.75 in 23 innings. In drawn games, he averages 60.5 in 22 innings. In 34 innings in losses, Williamson’s average drops to 27, showing how important he is to his team.