Proof that Kane Williamson is already NZ's best ever

Kane Williamson has a 1:3 ratio with 24 such feats in 72 innings. Photo / AP

Former Tauranga Boys' College student Kane Williamson and fellow Black Cap Ross Taylor took another step towards New Zealand one-day international cricketing greatness this morning with their 206-run third-wicket partnership providing the spine in the three-wicket victory over England.

New Zealand lead the series 2-1 after reaching the 303 target in 49 overs, the fourth time in their ODI history they have successfully chased over 300.

It was the eighth century partnership across 36 stands in the 50-over format for New Zealand's best 3-4 ODI punch. Williamson made 118 off 113 balls; Taylor 110 off 123.

Read more: Williamson scores 100 at Lord's

Their scroll of achievement features below but, on an individual level, a key statistic stands out: their ratios of getting beyond 50 in ODI innings are in the top echelon.

Williamson has a 1:3 ratio with 24 such feats in 72 innings. He's equal with Bevan Congdon (three 50s in nine innings).

Taylor's ratio is 1:3.33 with 45 scores of 50-plus in 150 innings. He's equal with Glenn Turner (12 in 40).

Andrew Jones (1:3.48), Martin Guptill (1:3.6), Martin Crowe (1:3.68) and Nathan Astle (1:3.81) are in the next bracket.

Williamson defined their approach.

"I don't think 'aggressive' has to mean slogging or hitting the ball 150 metres. I think the style of play is what you want to achieve in an innings and the runs you get.

"To bowl them out before the 50 overs was key, they were on track for a few more runs. They played well again with the bat and it was nice to restrict them. It was also great to form that partnership with Ross, who batted outstandingly to take the game deep - it was frustrating one of us was not there at the end but the guys that came in formed the partnerships that were required to get us over the line."

Morgan acknowledged the passive Williamson-Taylor bulldozer which quietly bowls through the middle stages of an innings.

"That partnership hurt us. I think if we'd got one of those wickets early, it would have opened up their middle order more.

"Grant Elliott hasn't had a lot of time in the middle, and the new guy [Mitchell] Santner hasn't played a lot of cricket.

"They played pretty well, didn't give us many chances - and when we did get chances, we didn't take them. That's disappointing.

"We certainly weren't out of the game. Three hundred runs is a lot to score, and I think it was a harder wicket to get in on than the Oval."

Taylor was dropped twice, on 67 by wicketkeeper Jos Buttler off Mark Wood and on 72 by Ben Stokes at mid-wicket, again off Wood who also dropped a dolly at mid-off from David Willey when Williamson was 109.

However, those blips couldn't detract from an exercise in professionalism.

THE WILLIAMSON AND TAYLOR SHOW
Their 206-run partnership was:
- the highest by New Zealand for the third wicket against any country in ODIs, surpassing Adam Parore and Ken Rutherford's 180 against India at Vadodara in 1994.
- the second highest for the third wicket against England, three runs short of the unbeaten 209 set by Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir at Delhi in October 2011.
- the highest for any ODI wicket against England, passing the unbeaten 165-run opening stand between Brendon McCullum and Jesse Ryder at Hamilton in 2008.
- the third highest partnership in New Zealand ODI history after McCullum and James Marshall's 274 opening stand against Ireland at Aberdeen in 2008 and the unbeaten 267 world record for the sixth wicket by Grant Elliott and Luke Ronchi against Sri Lanka in Dunedin this year.