13 Facts about Kane Williamson: The Gritty Black Cap

At 19, Kane Williamson was tipped by many to become the skipper of the New Zealand team. At the age of 26, Williamson is on the verge of becoming a Kiwi batting legend. Of course, there have been the likes of Martin Crowe and Richard Hadlee, but, there is something much more romantic about the way Williamson conducts himself. He does not need the spotlight and neither is he flamboyant. He just does his job and goes about his life in perhaps the simplest of manners possible. Here we take a look at some compelling facts about Kane Williamson: The Gritty Black Cap.

1. Born in:

Kane Stuart Williamson was born on the 8th of August, 1990 at Tauranga, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand.

2. Martin Crowe’s pick:

Martin Crowe, perhaps the best cricketer to have ever been produced by New Zealand endorsed the fact that by the time Williamson would have finished with his playing career, he would have already become New Zealand’s greatest batsman.

3. Modest to the core:

He was modest about his skills, too, – “Everyone is gifted, I guess, but you get some that seem exceptionally so. I’m not one of them.”

4. The Baby-Faced assassin:

At the age of 14, Kane Williamson had already fit the bill to become a great cricketer for New Zealand. He also made his Test debut for New Zealand at the tender age of 20 against India at Ahmedabad in 2010, where he smashed a wonderful century in a drawn Test match.

5. The coaching manual:

Unlike most New Zealand batsmen, Williamson is almost like a coaching manual. Better yet, he is like a cricket textbook that has come to life and playing shots that have been dormant for years in the cricketing world.

6. The Lankans at Wellington:

Among his best performances is his maiden Test double-century in January 2015, which helped New Zealand come from behind and beat Sri Lanka in Wellington. The innings was a testament to Williamson’s hunger for runs and batting time – he was dissatisfied despite making 242 in over 10 hours.

7. The automatic skipper:

Kane Williamson had the mental skills as well as the appropriate batting skills to match the portfolio of becoming the New Zealand skipper. He now skippers the Kiwis in all three formats.

8. 2008 U19 World Cup:

Kane Williamson led the U19 side in the 2008 edition of the U19 World Cup that took place in Kuala Lumpur. Although the Kiwis didn’t make it to the final fixtures, Williamson had already proved his ability to skipper a team. Corey Anderson, Tim Southee, and Henry Nicholls are some prominent names from that side.

9. ‘A thirst to be phenomenal’

Williamson attended Tauranga Boys’ College from 2004–2008 where he was Head Boy in his final year and was coached by Pacey Depina. Depina described Williamson as having “a thirst to be phenomenal – but not at anyone else’s expense.”

10. Brothers in arms:

Williamson has a twin brother Logan. Kane however, is approximately a minute older to his brother.

11. In the footsteps of Sachin Tendulkar:

Growing up, Williamson watched Indian cricket great Sachin Tendulkar and was heavily influenced by him. He has also attempted to model his persona as well as batting technique on Tendulkar as well.

12. A ‘sporty’ lad:

Initially for Williamson, cricket was a hobby, something he played along with other sports. Kane and Logan have both excelled at several sports, including rugby, field hockey, basketball, volleyball, soccer, and cricket.

13. The schools of Peshawar:

In the 2014 Pakistan’s tour of New Zealand, Williamson donated his entire match fee for all five ODIs to the victims of the 2014 Peshawar school massacre, meaning that he played the entire series for free.