New Zealand star Kane Williamson, on Friday (February 16), starred with the bat to help his side beat South Africa by seven wickets in the second Test and clean sweep the two-match series. The Black Caps had won the series opener by 281 runs.
Kane Williamson scored his seventh century in as many Tests to take his team home. Chasing 267, New Zealand made a poor start with the bat as both of their openers – Devon Conway (17) and Tom Latham (30) – departed cheaply to leave their team reeling at 53 for 2.
The former New Zealand skipper and Rachin Ravindra steadied the ship and took the score past the 100-run mark by adding 64 runs for the third wicket. Dane Piedt broke the stand by sending back Ravindra for 20. It was followed by an unbeaten stand of 152 runs between Kane Williamson and Will Young.
The veteran batsman went on to score his 32nd century in Tests and remained unbeaten on 133. His knock came off 260 balls and contained 12 fours and 2 sixes. On the other hand, Young scored 60 runs off 134 balls with the help of 8 fours.
Kane Williamson is only behind Don Bradman:
Kane Williamson is now only behind the legendary Don Bradman in terms of best average in a winning cause in Tests. Bradman, who is widely regarded as the best batsman of all time, has the best average in Test wins (minimum 15 wins). The former Australia cricketer had a staggering average of 130.08 in Test wins. He is the only player with an average of more than 100 in winning Tests.
Kane Williamson has moved to the second spot in the list and is now the only other player apart from Bradman to have an average of over 80 in Test wins. He currently has an average of 81.86 in Test wins. Former Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq is third in the list while former West Indies allrounder Garry Sobers is fourth.
Highest averages in test wins (min 15 wins)
130.08 Don Bradman
81.86 Kane Williamson
78.16 Inzamam-ul-Haq
77.42 Garry Sobers#NZvSA— Francis Payne (@FPayne100) February 16, 2024
Williamson now has 32 centuries in Tests which is the most by an active player. Australia star Steve Smith has also 32 Test centuries. Williamson is also the fastest to 32 Test tons, reaching the milestone in 172 innings.
