Ahead of Afghanistan’s One-off test New Zealand’s Kane Williamson has made discussions around the Fab 4 and admired for Joe Root. He also shared his excitement about the challenge of playing six tests in the subcontinent over the next three months.
Former New Zealand captain Kane Williamson expressed his admiration for Joe Root, applauding the batter’s record-breaking feats in the longest format of the game.
Speaking to the reporters in Greater Noida ahead of New Zealand’s one-off Test against Afghanistan, starting September 09, Williamson downplayed the Fab 4 discussions.
Williamson said that he enjoys watching Root, Virat Kohli, and Steve Smith in Test cricket. For years, Williamson, Kohli, Root, and Smith have dominated red-ball cricket with Root recently putting a peak performance in the last four years.
Joe Root has surpassed England legend Alastair Cook’s record for most test centuries by an England player, scoring hundreds in both innings of a Test in Sri Lanka’s tour of England. Root who has 17 centuries in the first nine years of his career, has tallied the England legend’s record in the last four years.
“Not really, no,” said Williamson while asked about the fab four serves as a motivation to push harder.
“You mentioned Joe Root. He has been something else for a long period of time. Obviously, there is a lot of attention on what he might be able to achieve in a number of years and it’s just incredible that that conversion can even be had. He has been phenomenal.
“I have been a big fan of his. Not just him, but the other guys as well, amazing how they have sort of moved the game forward in a big way,” he added.
Kane Williamson has 32 hundred to his name, and Kane Williamson has also been consistently chipping in with some memorable performances.
With New Zealand set to return to test cricket for the first time since March, Williamson said he is looking forward to the upcoming Afghanistan vs New Zealand One-off test in India.
The Blackcaps is set to play six tests in their New Zealand home season 2024-25 and being the champions of the inaugural edition of the WTC will pose a challenge in the ongoing WTC.
“I mean, we are absolutely going to be challenged in a number of ways. But, the opportunity to have a block here for us as a team to look have the sort of experiences that we are going to have for the next sort of two-and-a-half months and be better for it. It’s an exciting opportunity.”
“Nice to be here, preparing for the first Test. We are looking to take those small steps and try and get familiar with those conditions,” he said.
“In some ways, it’s like a tournament sport, even though it’s over a long period of time in the Test championship. Naturally, having six Test matches together is a big part of our calendar. It’s one that we are very excited about,” he added.
New Zealand has roped in Rangana Herath and Vikram Rathour as part of their coaching staff for the one-off test.
“(They are) really, really experienced and knowledgeable coaches. Obviously (a lot of experience) in this part of the world. We got together yesterday. So obviously, the relationship is new, and they are getting along with the group. It’s going to be exciting,” Williamson said, welcoming the appointments of Herath and Rathour.
New Zealand is currently in the third position of the WTC points table with three wins out of six games. They will be heading to Sri Lanka for a two-match test series in the second half of September, before heading to India to take on Rohit Sharma-led India in a 3-match test series from October 16 to November 05.
The one-off test between New Zealand and Afghanistan will be played between September 09 and 13 at Noida.
