Cricket: Kane Williamson century puts Black Caps in control after day two of Test 1 against Pakistan

Kane Williamson will hit, at most, five times in test cricket this year.

In a demonstration of the value of quality over quantity, the New Zealand skipper has taken the four chances he has had on the fold to accumulate 472 out of an average of 118.

He might get one more shot at hitting before the boom wanes in a strange 2020, but he’ll expect it to be brief as New Zealand chases victory against Pakistan.

At the risk of using sentences that could be cut and pasted from any number of stories, Williamson’s elegant and bespoke century has placed New Zealand in a prime position to continue his mastery of home testing.

Williamson has a knack for making ridiculously tough seem frictionless, but even he admitted that this included long periods of fighting. He described the achievement as “really satisfying,” which for Williamson is bordering on dramatization.

“It was quite challenging and the Pakistani bowlers were incredibly disciplined. We had to take advantage of our luck,” said Williamson.

“The ball was moving a bit and they were asking a lot of questions in good areas. It was difficult to get a scoring rhythm. A lot of the partnerships we built were around time rather than a flow of runs. It’s what you expect when they put you on the ball. bat.

“I thought they played wonderfully.”

Victory, if it comes, will be hard fought and will depend on the bowlers, who have yet to find themselves in the mood this summer. This, however, is the first time the ball has not rocked appreciably.

“As the wicket is starting to age, we know that we are going to have to put a lot of effort with the ball in hand and be very patient to get those rewards,” said Williamson, noting that some cracks also appeared on the surface. hard as a rock.

“Hopefully it starts to deteriorate … but at the same time it’s important that we be very, very patient. That’s test cricket.”

At the end of the second day, Pakistan was 30-1 of 20 overs and seemed ready for scrap as they began their search for the towering 431. The wicket that fell was Shan Masood, who landed the weakest of the edges down the side of the leg. even Kyle. Jamieson (1-5), who was the bowlers’ pick.

“He has a very mature head on his shoulders. He thinks a lot about the game and what he’s trying to do. He pitched very, very well,” Williamson said.

“We need to hit those areas hard for long periods and consistently.”

Abid Ali was not out of 19, with night watchman Mohammad Abbas yet to score as the day ended under the lights of Bay Oval.

Whether New Zealand will have full use of Neil Wagner will depend on the results of tonight’s scans. Wagner was hit flush on the boot by Shaheen Shah Afridi while hitting and had a little sore between innings. He was given pain relief and did three reasonable bowls at the end of the day.

However, the big story of the day was the pattern.

The batting sage started the second day at 94 and worked his way to a 23-century test, increasing his lead over Ross Taylor, who scored 70 on the first day, by four.

In many ways, it reflected his 22nd century in that he hit the stumps on the first day with a single shot from his milestone after spending most of the day in a battle of attrition with the bowlers.

The fight here was greater than against the West Indies in Hamilton because the attack led by 20-year-old southpaw Shaheen (4-109) was more skillful and relentless.

Williamson only seemed to be hitting relatively freely once he went past three figures and it came as a surprise when he shoved one of Yasir Shah’s hard and Haris Sohail dropped him on the slide.

Now he sits alongside Kevin Pietersen, Virender Sehwag, Justin Langer and Javed Miandad on the list of centuries of all time. Those four played more than 100 tests; Williamson is playing his 82nd.

It was not a one-man show by any means. Taylor was excellent, BJ Watling punched and fought his way to 73 and Henry Nicholls seemed to have no trouble getting to 56 before neglecting to review his firing caught by a goalie when replay indicated he was neither bitten nor gloved .

“There were a couple of contacts, I think both arms, but I was pretty sure it hit him on the thumb,” Williamson said of the conversation they shared to decide whether to review. “When you watch the replay it’s surprising because it was some distance away.”

As is the victory here, but they have three long days to rectify that.