How do you fit Kane Williamson on a T20 side? On the one hand, there is the undoubted class. On the other hand, a T20 hit rate of 125.00 stares you in the face. When teams are looting 80 runs, 90 runs in the last four overs, when Andre Russell has twice outscored his side with 50 runs needed in the last three at IPL 2019, where is the space for someone who is scoring on the beat? of Williamson? Even the anchors should be faster in the changing dynamics of the T20.
Williamson is a very smart cricketer, so it’s fair to assume that he has figured this out. It is also a expert cricketer, and the results of his training could be seen when he took the field for the first time at IPL 2020, against the Delhi Capitals. Going into 92 for 2 at 12th is more territory for Rishabh Pant or Hardik Pandya or AB de Villiers. But Williamson dived into the innings as if he had been playing the role of finalist for seasons. At the other end, Jonny Bairstow struggled to drill the holes or clear the boundary, even as Williamson kept the Sunrisers going.
If you hadn’t watched the game and been told that a third wicket between Bairstow and Williamson produced 52 runs on 39 balls, with one hitter contributing 14 of 17 and the other 38 of 21, who would you have thought fulfilled each role? ? Not only did Williamson beat Bairstow, he more than doubled it as well.
Of course, that Williamson has done it once is no guarantee that he can do it repeatedly, or even one more time. But there is a precedent with Williamson and the IPL. Whether it has to do with the competition, your franchise, or your new role in which It is not The team’s top hitting hope, we can only guess, but in the IPL so far in his sixth season, Williamson is averaging 38.37 with a strike rate of 135.65, both substantially higher than his career T20 numbers.
This is despite not finding a regular spot in the XI, with the exception of IPL 2018 when David Warner’s ball handling ban meant that Williamson captained and played the entire time. That year, in fact, marked a milestone in Williamson’s T20 career. Until then, his numbers in T20 cricket were grim – averaging 26.72 with a strike rate of 118.01. But at the Sunrisers in 2018, something fell into place, and as of that tournament, he has been averaging 41.07 and hitting 141.52. Those are elite figures for an anchor, which is what Williamson has largely stuck with.
Mike Hesson was one of the Select Dugout commentators that year. He had just resigned from his duties as New Zealand coach, and felt that what unlocked Williamson, the T20 player, was the security of his place in XI along with the greater freedom that playing for the Sunrisers afforded him, as opposed to to the most important role of responsibility he had. had to take over for New Zealand. “He’s gotten more confident going up against the outfielders because when he’s playing for New Zealand his role is not that,” Hesson told ESPNcricinfo at the time, analyzing the reasons for his success. But once he discovered the T20 batter in him, Williamson seems to have run with him.
Perhaps that was what led him to effortlessly slide into a new role, albeit with his own method. Before leaving, he had faced only two point balls in 25. Now, in T20 cricket, it is well established that limits are much more important than point balls, but where Williamson thrived was in achieving a combination of limits and hustle. in the fold. Running hard and turning one into two can keep a player busy, but it won’t be the ideal result towards the end. Williamson, however, also hit every five balls he faced the fence. He was looking to manipulate the field, being resourceful with his shots and moving freely, either downward or sideways, to create an angle that could be exploited.
And, not that he had extra careers to do it, Williamson did it while looking supremely composed as he always does. He could probably radiate serenity while fighting dragons, so this wasn’t surprising. However, the dynamics of Williamson’s inclusion made this particular Zen mode all the more impressive.
He was facing one of the strongest bowling attacks of the 2020 IPL and three overs from his most powerful death thrower at Kagiso Rabada. He had been included ahead of Mohammad Nabi, not just a renowned T20 hitter but an all-rounder whose main bat is his scion. That meant two things: one that the Sunrisers would have to find four overs from pitchers who weren’t front-line, and second, that they didn’t have a skilled handicap against a hitting lineup that had four left-handers in their top seven: Shikhar Dhawan , Rishabh Pant, Shimron Hetmyer and Axar Patel. Warner would later agree that it was a “big decision” to choose Williamson.
So Williamson not only had to score to justify his inclusion, he had to score enough to cover four overs that the Capitals could potentially attack. And he had to do it with a hitting partner who was struggling to put the ball down.
What helped him was that this was not a field where you could step on and loot the bowling alley, and the grounds were big enough that sixes were not the norm. The Sunrisers will not have such conditions in every game. But as the tournament progresses, with the wear and tear that venues, particularly Abu Dhabi and Dubai, will be subject to, there is a clear possibility of having more games where 160-170 is the even score instead of 200. And in those Under the circumstances, Williamson’s quiet and efficient hitting style could serve the Sunrisers well.
So how do you fit Kane Williamson on one side of the T20? If you’re from the Sunrisers Hyderabad, you’ve got the right conditions and a man whose recent hitting belies his overall numbers and completes your mid-order puzzle.
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