Speaking with PakPassion.net Williamson talked of his appreciation for Gloucestershire county cricket club, his thoughts on his next international opposition the West Indies, the South African pace attack, as well as the Twenty20 World Cup in September in Sri Lanka.

by Saj Sadiq (June 12th 2012)

21 year old Kane Williamson’s introduction to international cricket could not have been more inauspicious, as he made a nine ball duck against India in a one day international at Dambulla in August 2010. However since that debut in Sri Lanka, Williamson has become an integral part of the New Zealand team in Test cricket and one day internationals and has recently also forced his way into the Twenty20 side.

In twelve Test appearances the right handed middle order batsman has already completed two centuries and four half centuries. On Test debut he scored a magnificent 131 at Ahmedabad against India. Recently in Wellington, Williamson made a gutsy 102 not out in a total of 200 for 6, as New Zealand salvaged a draw against the highly rated South African pace attack that included Morne Morkel, Vernon Philander and Dale Steyn.

In the fifty over format Williamson has reached three figures on two occasions and has made one half century, in twenty four appearances, which was against South Africa in February.

Williamson has also been a popular member of the Gloucestershire side in English county cricket and has been appearing for the Bristol based county for a second season this time around. Speaking with PakPassion.net Williamson talked of his appreciation for Gloucestershire county cricket club and his hopes that he will return there in future, his thoughts on his next international opposition the West Indies, the South African pace attack, as well as the Twenty20 World Cup in September in Sri Lanka.

“I have always enjoyed my time at Gloucestershire, I had a great time last year, it’s a great setup and when I was given the opportunity to come back this season I took it with both hands as I enjoy Bristol and we have a fantastic bunch of guys.”

Williamson’s spell with Gloucestershire this season will only be a short one as he is set for international duty at the end of this month as New Zealand face the West Indies in a series that commences in Florida and then moves onto the Caribbean.

“Of course international duty is very important and it’s the pinnacle of the sport so it’s unfortunate that my stint at Gloucestershire this time around is a short one, but I would love to come back to play for Gloucestershire in future if the opportunity presents itself” stated Williamson.

He added “The West Indies series is going to be a difficult one for New Zealand. I watched some of the West Indies matches at home to Australia and they fought really hard and the ball was spinning a lot so I’m sure it will be a really tough series and they are getting some quality players like Chris Gayle back into the team now. It’s going to be tough competition out there, but I’m really looking forward to the series.”

“Conditions are going to be tough in the Caribbean for us and watching the West Indies against England this summer, at times they have struggled but they have put together some good innings and they have bowled well at times, so we know we have a big challenge ahead of us but we are ready for it.”

Williamson topped the batting averages for New Zealand in their home Test series against South Africa earlier this year, scoring 229 runs at an average of over 57 in 5 innings and is in a good position to provide an opinion on the impressive South African bowling attack which will shortly be landing on English soil to square up to Andrew Strauss and his colleagues.

“The South African bowling attack is very good. They have a lot of variety, with height, pace and the added ingredient of Vernon Philander who moves the ball around both ways. The South Africans were a big challenge for us in New Zealand and it’s going to be a much anticipated series in England between the two sides. I’m looking forward to watching it also. England are also a great side and number one in the world, so it should be a great series and one that is very difficult to predict as to which way it will go” stated Williamson.

Williamson only made his T20I debut last October which was more than a year since making his international debut but he hopes that he can have a role in all three formats of cricket for New Zealand in future.

“I’m learning a lot about my game in the shorter formats, particularly the twenty over format. One day cricket is a format that I really enjoy and hopefully I have a role playing in the New Zealand side and I’d like to continue that and to keep on improving on it. With the Twenty20 format I think it is a matter of finding my game with the skills that I have to try and be successful at it and it’s something that I am really working on and hopefully it’s something that I can continue improving at” stated Williamson.

With less than 100 days to go to the Twenty20 World Cup in Sri Lanka, attention is already turning to what promises to be an exciting and action packed tournament. Williamson feels that whilst the Asian powerhouses such as India will be amongst the favourites, New Zealand should not be written off either.

“It’s going to be a difficult challenge for the non Asian sides in Sri Lanka. Having said that though I feel we have the players who can do well in those sorts of tournaments like we showed in the World Cup last year. The boys will be really excited and we know we can beat anyone on our day. The key is to keep on looking to improve and we know that when we go onto that international stage against the world’s best, we can go there with confidence and know that if we come off, we can beat anybody”.

Williamson feels that India will be the team to be beat at the T20 World Cup, although Pakistan and Sri Lanka are also amongst the favourites in Sri Lankan conditions.

“The obvious favourites are India, although Pakistan and Sri Lanka are also strong contenders as they are familiar with the conditions. But there are other great teams around too that will push the Indian, Pakistani and Sri Lankan sides. Twenty20 cricket is just so unpredictable, who knows on the day - anything is literally possible.”