In their Cricket World Cup match against Australia, co-hosts New Zealand would have been very nervous as they chased just 152 to win.
They had managed to bowl out the Australians cheaply in Auckland, but were struggling themselves against the relentless Mitchell Starc.
Enter Kane Williamson, who appeared to shake off a difficult start to the tournament with an unbeaten 45 to lead the Black Caps to victory by just one wicket.
Brendon McCullum had once again got his side off to a flyer in their run chase with 50 from 24 balls, but when he was dismissed New Zealand’s middle order crumbled.
Ross Taylor and Grant Elliott both fell cheaply, and when Corey Anderson looked in trouble against Starc, the co-hosts must have feared the worst.
However, still there was Williamson at No. 3, who was not playing as aggressively as some of his team-mates but was blunting the threat of Australia’s bowlers brilliantly.
Williamson and Anderson combined for a partnership of 52 that took New Zealand away from the dangerous position of 79-4 to a better spot of 131-5.
All the while, the 24-year-old Williamson showed once again why he is so crucial to the Black Caps as he took things steadily and did not try for too many big shots.
Unfortunately, New Zealand’s nerves would be tested again when Anderson was dismissed, as Luke Ronchi fell and was then quickly followed by Daniel Vettori, Adam Milne and Tim Southee.
That left last man Trent Boult as Williamson’s only partner, and it looked for all the world as though Australia had managed to pull off an improbable defence of their tiny total.
However, Williamson was unperturbed, and when he hit Pat Cummins into the stands for six to take the Black Caps to victory, the relief was palpable.
He may not have been the highest scorer in the game, but Williamson’s contribution was invaluable, and without it New Zealand would likely have lost.
Williamson was once again strong through the covers, while only one of his five boundary fours was in any way risky as he drove one very close to a short cover fielder off Cummins.
However, he also played a superb role in keeping his partners calm, especially No. 11 Boult as he came to the crease with six runs required still.
“I was pretty wound up,” Boult told reporters after the game, per Stuff.co.nz. “I got out there and I was going a million miles an hour and Kane quickly slowed it down for me.
“He simplified it saying if I could get through those two balls then we could move forward from there. I was pretty ecstatic; I'm going to enjoy a lot of this day for a while."
That shows what a superb leader Williamson is as well, as he managed something of a crisis and was able to help his side come away with the right result.
His batting speaks for itself, especially after a golden 2014 and a strong start to 2015.
In terms of his overall contributions in this game, he showed once again just how crucial he is to the success of this New Zealand team.
from Bleacher Report http://ift.tt/1wxBjcp
via IFTTT February 28, 2015 at 06:43AM
0 comments:
Post a Comment