Kane Williamson Credits Brendon McCullum For Helping New Zealand Reach New Heights

New Zealand captain, Kane Williamson credits former skipper, Brendon McCullum for being the harbinger of a different ‘culture’ in their cricket as the Black Caps rise to the numero uno position in the ICC Test rankings for the first time in the history.

New Zealand’s victory over Pakistan by an innings and 176 runs in the second Test in Christchurch culminated with Williamson’s side at the top of the Test team rankings displacing Australia. The Kiwis have been superb at home and away in the past few years: a series victory in the UAE, a Test match victory in Sri Lanka, and finally whitewashes over India, West Indies, and Pakistan.

Williamson talks about carrying the legacy of McCullum forward and following the former opener’s tradition of carrying oneself on the field and in the dressing room.

“It (team culture) continues to grow. In my observation of teams, over a period of time, you have changes in personnel. Under Brendon, his team had some drastic changes, in terms of the culture, which started things off to a large extent. From our perspective, we have been looking to build on it and grow and adjust when needed. That’s a continuation and something we will try to focus on and try to improve,” Kane Williamson said in the press conference.

It’s a very special moment: Kane Williamson

Kane Williamson, who was adjudged the Player of the Series, is extremely proud of his team reaching an unprecedented high in New Zealand’s cricket history. The 30-year-old lavishes praise on youngsters Daryl Mitchell and Kyle Jamieson for their magnificent performance at the Hagley Oval. Jamieson was awarded the Man of the Match award for picking five-wicket hauls in both innings, and Mitchell notched his maiden Test ton.

“Achieving this standing means there has been a lot of hard work. It’s a very special moment. It was hard to talk about when the Test summer was on. But it’s nice to sit back now and take a moment and enjoy it,” Williamson added.

“When you see some younger guys come in, the likes of Daryl Mitchell and Kyle Jamieson, there were some outstanding statistical contributions in this game. But it’s more about their attitude that they brought in, that’s really special,” said the Kiwi skipper.

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