‘Applied ourselves well, pretty balanced day’ - Kane Williamson after 93-run knock against England in Christchurch

England won the toss and elected to field first in the first Test against New Zealand at Christchurch. The conditions were favourable for the fast bowlers and the visitors took advantage of that by sending Devon Conway back to the pavilion in the second over of the game. The Kiwis struggled for a brief while but found momentum through solid partnerships as the hosts posted 319/8 after Day 1.

Former captain Kane Williamson had a terrific day with the bat, scoring 93 runs. He built crucial partnerships with Tom Latham, Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell, which helped New Zealand post a strong total on the board. After the end of Day 1, Williamson noted that it was a challenging condition but was happy with how the batters applied themselves in the middle and built important partnerships. He noted that the ball was moving sideways and England troubled them with bouncers but New Zealand tackled it well.

Also Read - Twitter Reactions: Kane Williamson misses out on well-deserved century as Kiwis start well in first Test on Day 1

‘It was challenging, we had to work hard, some good partnerships, but the wicket was pretty good. I was just trying to adjust as to where to run (on being asked about the slippery surface), we applied ourselves well, pretty balanced day with both teams getting some rewards. An interesting day's play overall,” Williamson said after the end of Day 1.

“From our perspective, we were pleased with partnerships throughout, the ball was doing a bit and we felt we got some rewards towards the end of the day. The ball was doing a bit throughout, there was some sideways movement and bounce, (Brydon) Carse extracted it well, with the wind he made the ball do a bit,” he added.

Williamson opens up on comeback to Test side

The star batter had to sit out of the entire India series owing to a groin injury. However, New Zealand had a terrific time in the sub-continent, picking up a 3-0 win. Talking about the same, Williamson stated that he was happy with how the team fared in India and called it a great achievement.

“Was nervous (on his comeback), watched the series and the team did amazingly well there in India, it was a great achievement (to win 3-0),” Williamson said.