3 reasons why Kane Williamson can finish as one of the best Test batsmen of his generation

Williamson is considered a modern-day great. But how good is he? Where does he stand with other contemporary greats like Virat Kohli, Root and Smith? Is it time to give Kane his due?

Kane Williamson has been the silent assassin for New Zealand. Being a great batsman and having good leadership skills in his disposal, he makes a strong case of himself within the 'fab four'. He has been continuously scoring a truckload of runs for his team in difficult conditions and has taken New Zealand home on various occasions. But sometimes we tend to forget how good a batsman he is.

Let's break down the three reasons why Kane can finish as one of the best Test batsmen of his generation.

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#3 Batting at the tough number 3 spot and playing less cricket compared to his counterparts

Williamson, the least fancied of the lot (probably because he is from New Zealand and not from the big three cricket-playing nations), is playing at the same league like his contemporaries.

Amongst this generation of Test batsmen who are billed to be future greats, four name stands out: Williamson, Steve Smith, Virat Kohli and Joe Root. Williamson is certainly at the top of this pack and, in all probability, will finish at the top too. This despite being a number 3 batsman, which is historically a much more difficult batting position than number 4 (in terms of average runs scored per dismissal), where interestingly all the other three mentioned above bat too.

Kane Williamson has played 103 innings in the number 3 spot and has scored a total of 5130 runs at a stellar average of 55.16 including 17 hundreds. While other batsmen such as Virat Kohli and Root has considerably struggled to make an impact at the number 3 position. Kohli's numbers are below-par there, scoring just 97 runs in six Test innings at an average of 19.40.

Also, we must keep in mind that New Zealand never get to play a four or five-match Test series unlike the big three- India, Australia and England. They mostly get two or three Tests in a series at home and away. This puts Williamson at a disadvantage when compared to the others.

Unlike them, he does not get a second chance or enough opportunities to make a comeback in a series. He hardly gets time to acclimatize to the conditions and had to be at his best from the word go. Thus, for Williamson to score this many runs is truly incredible.

#2 Playing in challenging conditions and the ability to soak in pressure

New Zealand v Pakistan - 3rd Test: Day Four

Two things need to be factored in when we talk about Kane Williamson's sensational rise in such a short period of time.

Firstly, conditions in New Zealand (along with South Africa) are the toughest for batsmen in world cricket - the red kookaburra ball does a lot after pitching (courtesy the green tops).

Also, with Trent Boult and Tim Southee in the mix, there is a concerted effort to prepare the greener pitches to yield results.

This is where he has played his cricket and achieved phenomenal success. If he had played a substantial part of his cricket in easy conditions, his batting average of 50 could easily have been 57 or 58. He has been the batting mainstay for New Zealand.

Secondly, his side has never had a stable opening pair as such. Williamson, in that respect, has been as good as an opener for New Zealand - with the added pressure of knowing that his side has lost an early wicket. His ability to absorb the pressure of falling wickets is again amongst the best in Test cricket.

#1 Test cricket over anything else

New Zealand v Pakistan - 3rd Test: Day Five

One thing which goes in Williamson's favour is that he is a decent T20 batsman, but not a great one. This means his focus is on Test cricket. Thus his priorities are not compromised and he does not need to modify his batting to suit the demands of T20 cricket. He will focus on Test and ODIs, which will keep him on par with the pack.

However, of late Kane Williamson has played some crucial T20 knocks for the Kiwis and also had the opportunity to lead the SRH side in the IPL owing to the absence of David Warner.‎ With the added responsibility of being captain, Williamson has still managed to score runs for New Zealand in both Test and One Day cricket.

Even though he has a T20 average of just 31.33, his test average of 50.62 and ODI average of 46.88 shows just why he will be the main man for New Zealand in the upcoming World Cup in 2019.

Here, we can stick our neck out and say that Williamson will finish as one of the best Test batsmen from this generation. Williamson's batting is purists delight, with his class strokeplay blending nicely with his footwork and gritty temperament. It is time that we give Kane Williamson his due.