Pak tri-nation series – Williamson hails ‘outstanding’ Conway after record partnership against SA

“It was great to be out there and be a part of some important partnerships,” Williamson said after the game. “Devon Conway was outstanding – he was at his best and got us off to a great start. We were able to put that partnership together that took us a long way into that chase. That was really valuable.”

But after a steady opening partnership, Conway and Williamson put together a huge stand, taking advantage of some inexperienced South African bowling and a true pitch that only appeared to get better as the day aged. Williamson looked in the form of his life, and appeared to take no risks while continuing to score at a strike rate close to 140. He brought up his century in 72 balls, the second fastest ODI hundred he has scored. The two put on 187 runs off 154 balls for the second wicket, and by the time Conway sliced one to a fielder, the contest was effectively done and dusted.

“The pitch was definitely a better surface [to bat] today,” he said. “For whatever reason, I’m not sure. That’s part of some of the good learnings, really – different times of the day going into the evening. It came onto the bat quite nicely and it still took a little bit of turn. So it’s quite interesting; it’s the sort of wicket where if you’re able to get breakthroughs, you can apply some pressure. But it was nice we were able to build those partnerships and break the back of the chase. For me, it’s about trying to assess conditions and do the best job I can and then be a part of partnerships for the team in whatever role it is. It was tough going – kept quite low in that day time innings. But it did change a bit.”

Williamson understands the value of getting some extra game time in with the Champions Trophy around the corner, but also has the experience of not reading too much into it. This game was played during the day – a timeslot that will not be in play for any game during the Champions Trophy. However, just as New Zealand were ruthless in defence of a total against Pakistan, they were equally clinical at hunting one down today.

“It helps us to try and get as familiar as you can with our roles and how we operate as a unit and also the conditions.”

Kane Williamson

“Obviously playing one day cricket here when other teams haven’t probably been playing a huge amount of one day cricket is nice,” Williamson added. “It helps us to try and get as familiar as you can with our roles and how we operate as a unit and also the conditions. Having said that, we know that each game is a match in isolation. When you come to a tournament like Champions Trophy, the top eight teams on their day giving the conditions, anyone can beat anybody, so a really competitive tournament. That is exciting, I think, and a great prospect for viewers as well.”

Today, though, a sizeable crowd, considering it was a weekday with two neutral teams, were not thinking of the Champions Trophy. Williamson was the man they had come to see, and as he pointed out, it was his side they seemed to support. And, as he has proved to fans on the other side of the world time and again, he showed Pakistan supporters what it felt to throw their support behind a cricketer who never seems to let anyone down.

“It was great to see a crowd here today,” Williamson said. “Pakistan not a part of this match, but heard a few chants for the Kiwis which was nice as well. I suppose we have been here fairly often in recent years and that was great. So it’s nice to get a bit of a crowd along to this match and certainly had an outstanding atmosphere in the first one and that was great to be a part of as well.”