Despite opting out of this month’s tour of Zimbabwe, Kane Williamson still has aspirations to represent his country, new Black Caps coach Rob Walter says.
At 34, and with more yesterdays than tomorrows in his international career, Williamson has opted out of the test and Twenty20 tri-series with South Africa, in order to play franchise cricket in England.
Last year, after New Zealand’s exit from the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and United States, Williamson stood down from the Black Caps’ white ball captaincy, and opted out of a central contract.
And while he now holds a casual playing agreement with New Zealand Cricket, that effectively leaves Williamson able to pick and choose when he plays for the Black Caps.
Williamson skipping white ball series is nothing new. The Black Caps have become accustomed to finishing the New Zealand summer with weakened sides, in order to let our best and brightest play in the Indian Premier League.
However, Zimbabwe will be the first time Williamson has opted out of test commitments, easily the format in which he has excelled the most.
But with the Black Caps’ test calendar sparse for 2025, Williamson will instead maximise his earnings - with his English stint coming after similar opportunities in South Africa and Pakistan.
As the Black Caps’ new head coach, Walter is more than versed in the tug of war between club and country.
As white ball coach of South Africa, not having his best players available was a frequent obstacle Walter had to overcome, even as he led the Proteas to the final of the 2024 T20 World Cup, and 2023 ODI World Cup.
But now preparing to take charge of New Zealand for the first time, the 49-year-old is confident Kiwi fans have not seen the last of Williamson.
“Myself and Kane have had a nice conversation, a long conversation,” Walter told the Herald.
“It was really great to catch up with him and discuss cricket. It was great to get his lens on New Zealand cricket and the Black Caps. He’s been so influential in their success over the years.
“But then also to discuss what the future might look like. I’ve said it repeatedly, he’s still very committed to the Black Caps, and wants to play international cricket.
“I don’t think it’ll be too long until we see that.”
While he may not consider it himself, Williamson also has a huge incentive to continue playing for the Black Caps in the longest format.
Following his last test innings, 156 against England in Hamilton in December, Williamson’s record reads 9276 runs. Should he score 724 more, he’d become the first New Zealander to cross the fabled mark of 10,000.
And, given the trajectory of the modern game, it’s more than likely no other Kiwi will get anywhere near whatever mark Williamson sets.
As for the other forms of the game, though, there is still much to be decided.
Following this year’s Champions Trophy in Pakistan and the UAE, Williamson is yet to make any call on whether or not he’ll continue playing white ball cricket internationally.
Of his modern contemporaries, only England’s Joe Root continues to play both red and white ball cricket. India’s Virat Kohli has retired from tests, while Australia’s Steve Smith has done the same for ODIs and T20s.
But as the Black Caps build towards the 2026 T20 World Cup, and 2027 ODI World Cup, Walter says any decision over Williamson’s white ball future won’t come from his coach.
“If that was a decision to be made, it would be his. Quality players stay quality players, and they just work at finding a method to be successful in all formats.
“He’s a generational talent, I’ve got no doubt he’d find a way. He’s probably jostling with what that actually looks like for him personally.
“But as I said, quality players find a way.”
Williamson isn’t the only Black Cap whose availability Walter will have to wait on, though.
Despite holding a central contract, all-rounder Michael Bracewell is unavailable for this series, in order to take up a $450,000 contract in England’s The Hundred competition.
On the flip side of that, though, Devon Conway has made himself available for the tests, while Adam Milne, Finn Allen and Tim Seifert have been selected for the T20s - all of whom hold casual deals.
In the past, Walter has told the Herald that finding the balance between franchise and international cricket is “the biggest challenge in the game”.
And with the issue not going to abate any time soon, Walter asserts that all parties must work in unison to find the right balance.
“It’s case by case,” he continued. “We’ve been challenged in how we view things. The game is definitely moving, there are decisions having to be made that weren’t part of our thinking five to ten years ago.
“From that point of view, it’s [about] trying to be cognisant and understanding the positions players are in.
“But ultimately, the Black Caps must always come first, we must prioritise that. But there is a happy medium.
“We probably don’t understand exactly what that looks like just yet. But if the players, New Zealand Cricket and the Black Caps are working very hard together to get the balance right, we’ll find our way to the other side.”
Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.