Just Days After Playing In IPL, New Zealand Captain Williamson Registers Highest Test Score

New Zealand Captain Kane Williamson registered his highest Test score while batting in the first innings of the ongoing first Test against West Indies on Friday.

After playing two months in the same Indian Premier League (IPL) team as West Indies skipper Jason Holder, Williamson took no time in switching to the strict demands of red-ball cricket. Having scored 314 runs in 11 innings at 45.28, including two half-centuries for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the IPL 2020 playoffs, Williamson spent more than 10 hours batting in the middle at the Seddon Park with ease.

Williamson, who scored 251 runs off 412 balls, achieved the milestone on Day two and helped the BlackCaps to post 500-plus total. En route to his third double century, the 30-year-old batter struck 34 fours and two sixes. He bettered his previous best score of 242 not out that he had scored against Sri Lanka six years ago.

Williamson also lifted his average at Seddon Park – his home ground – to 88.84. In fact, Williamson’s average of 88.42 at Hamilton is the highest for any New Zealand batsman at a venue where he has batted at least ten innings, according to ESPN Cricinfo.

The 30-year-old's epic knock was the fifth-highest individual Test score of a New Zealand skipper, while overall, it was the ninth-highest score by a BlackCaps batsman in the longest format. Stephen Flemming remains the only New Zealander with two such scores.

Williamson, who batted for 624 minutes during his knock of 251 in the first innings, has now batted for over 10 hours on two occasions. The first time was when he had batted for 623 minutes in his unbeaten 242 against Sri Lanka. He is the only New Zealand batsman to have batted more than ten hours in an innings twice in his Test career.

Soon after Williamson’s dismissal Friday, New Zealand declared their innings at 519 for 7, leaving the West Indies to face 26 overs before stumps on Day two. The visiting side were 49 for no loss at the end of the day’s play. Earlier, New Zealand opening batsman Tom Latham contributed with a 184-ball 86. Kyle Jamieson, who is playing his third Test for New Zealand, scored his maiden Test fifty as he remained unbeaten on 51 from 64 balls, including five fours and two sixes.