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ToggleThe former skipper of Australian Cricket Team Ricky Ponting showered words of praise on Kane Williamson for his incredible cricketing skills. Ponting, who felt Kane Williamson was technically weak in his initial days, is surprised to see his rise over the years. He termed the Kiwi skipper as one of the best batsmen in the world at the moment.
When Kane Williamson toured Australia as a 21-year-old in 2011 for a two-match Test series, Ricky Ponting was still playing for Australia. Brendon McCullum of New Zealand told Ponting that Williamson is going to be one of the best batsmen in the world. But, Ponting felt that the right-handed batsman was weak outside off stump.
Kane Williamson is one of the best players in the world – Kane Williamson
Now, Kane Williamson is one of the most consistent batsmen in world cricket and has won a million fans with his on-field conduct while leading the Black Caps. Since 2011, Williamson has scored 20 centuries and has amassed almost 6000 Test runs at an average of 55.56.
“Brendon McCullum said to me then ‘this kid is going to be one of the best players in the world. And I thought ‘really?’. He was pretty loose outside off stump and was going pretty hard at the ball. But when you see him now and what he’s developed into, he plays the ball later than anybody, makes big runs, makes runs consistently, and he’s been talked about as a being one of the best players in the world for the last four or five years.”
He is a bit like a Steve Smith – Ricky Ponting
Further, he went on to compare Kane Williamson with Steve Smith as far as Test Cricket is concerned. Ricky Ponting feels that Williamson plays the ball late than any other batsman in the world cricket at the moment. He believes the Kiwi skipper has the calibre to stand tall in the middle for his side when he tours Australia.
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“He’s a bit like Smithy (in Test cricket); he’s very regimented in the way he plays, he plays the ball late, he doesn’t get a big stride at the ball. But he’s just really hard to get out, so I’m looking forward to the battle between him and our quicks,” Ponting added.
Recently, Kane Williamson smashed a sensational century against England to save the Test match for New Zealand. Williamson & Co was recently awarded the Christopher Martin-Jenkins Spirit of Cricket award for 2019 for brilliant on-field conduct post a controversial World Cup 2019 final.