Williamson shines in new role as Black Caps seize slim lead

By Kris Shannon

Kane Williamson’s first innings since relinquishing the test captaincy bore a striking - and unsurprising - resemblance to the first 12 years of his remarkable career.

The former skipper recorded his 25th test century last night against Pakistan, reaching stumps unbeaten on 105 while helping the Black Caps into a positive position on day three of the first test in Karachi.

Williamson built on a record 183-run opening stand between Tom Latham and Devon Conway, joining the former in reaching three figures and giving New Zealand a first-innings lead of two runs with four wickets in hand.

There is unlikely to be enough life in a placid pitch to enliven the last two days, and new captain Tim Southee may already be pondering what steps are required to force a result.

But that is now beyond Williamson’s domain. It seems a specialist batsman role may suit the 32-year-old just fine - and continuing excellence will hardly be a great shock.

To begin his career, Williamson played 48 tests without the captaincy, averaging 49.2 and scoring a ton in 27.1 per cent of those matches. Then, after succeeding Brendon McCullum in 2016, Williamson played 40 tests as captain, averaging 57.4 and scoring a ton in 27.5 per cent of those matches.

Williamson had endured a five-test drought since his last century, also against Pakistan in 2021. But that run owed more to a troublesome elbow injury than any leadership burden.

There were no shackles to release when he announced he would be stepping aside; just more runs to score and attacks to sap.

Pakistan’s will rank low in the list of those picked apart by Williamson. The home side are missing their three best seamers while spin duo Abrar Ahmed and Nauman Ali have combined for five wickets without building significant pressure in their 89 overs.

Every New Zealand batsman appeared comfortable in the middle on day three, beginning when Latham and Conway resumed on 165-0.

The openers broke records both individual and collective in Karachi, putting together the Black Caps’ highest opening stand against Pakistan.

Conway became the fastest New Zealander to score 1000 test runs, reaching that mark in 19 innings to edge ahead of John Reid and Mark Richardson (20 innings). The 31-year-old was unable to notch his fourth test century, however, trapped in front by Ali when on 92.

Latham was unperturbed by the loss of his partner and continued to repel the hosts’ spin-heavy attack, adding steadily to his overnight score of 78. A quick single saw Latham raise his bat for test century No 13 and saw him move clear of John Wright for the most scored by a New Zealand opener.

He eventually fell before lunch, caught off his gloves while attempting to reverse-sweep Ahmed, but Williamson ensured the openers’ good work would not be wasted.

After surviving an apparent lbw dismissal when his review revealed an inside edge, Williamson also offered a stumping chance on 21, deceived by Ali only for Sarfaraz Ahmed to let the opportunity slip from his grasp.

But Williamson proceeded to play the rest of the day without error, methodically collecting runs and punishing the odd bad ball for 11 boundaries while remaining content to watch his partners bat more expansively.

Daryl Mitchell, in particular, flourished in that role. After Henry Nicholls had chopped on for 22, Mitchell took on the new ball and established with Williamson a 50-run stand from 41 deliveries.

The all-rounder was timing his shots well and finding gaps, cracking four consecutive fours from Mohammad Wasim. But Mitchell (42 off 47) soon fell in similar fashion to Latham and Tom Blundell experienced more mixed results while initially attempting to follow his lead.

The wicketkeeper came down the crease with regularity and barely evaded the field on a few occasions, eventually settling in for a streaky innings of 47 that ended when trapped in front by Wasim.

That exposed the lower order and Michael Bracewell was unable to offer any assistance in his third test, with a leading edge cutting short his brief stay and leaving the bowlers as supporting players to Williamson tomorrow.