Australia v New Zealand, 2nd Test, Day 2 - Kane Willaimson continues to shine

Trent Boult looked better as a bowler than the first day as he adjusted his flawed line-and-length on day 2. His pace was not as lively as you would expect to see, but he was found quite a handy customer as most of his deliveries landed in and around the offstump and on that back-of-a-length which is the perfect length. He fetched two wickets while the bulldogged Mark Craig grabbed three wickets, who still remained less impressive to me in the second day.

With the bat, the hero of the day should have been David Warner as everybody expected him to rewrite the record books on the second day, but he was just able to add nine more runs in his overnight total and as soon as he was dismissed, Australia looked for quick runs to swell the total and in the end they declared at 559 for 9.

Mitchell Starc bowled with sharp pace and gave Australia the early breakthrough and after the dismissal of Tom Latham, Taylor stitched a productive partnership with Kane Williamson to end the day without any more hassles.

While I used to play gully cricket, my seniors used to tell me, if you wish to prove yourself a better batsman then, play some strokes through the offside as because until and unless you script shots through that region, you can’t be tagged a classic batsman and any Jack and Harry can swing the bat on the onside and score runs. In those days, the classic batsmen were the heroes of the young generation and were the role models. The wild-swingers-with-the-bat were dubbed as nothing.

Yes, a classic and technically adept batsman can be assumed by his ability to play shots through the offside with the utmost authority and how good a batsman Kane Williamson is can be realized by his ability to caress the cover region with perfectly timed shots. Five boundaries were struck through the covers and each of them were a refreshment for the eyes. He picks the length so early, pivots either on the front or back foot with enough astuteness, then  allows the ball to reach the middle of the bat and ultimately the bat sends the ball to the boundary after a tendered-kiss.

Simply brilliant!

I must thank Kane Willaimson for keeping the classic batsmanship alive. Yes, the power-hitting are a fun, but nothing matches the romance of a sweetly timed stroke through the covers, midon and midoff or midwicket. It’s priceless.

Thank You

Faisal Caesar