Black Caps captain Kane Williamson is particularly looking forward to matches at the MCG and Bay Oval this summer. Photo / Photosport
Black Caps captain Kane Williamson is particularly looking forward to matches at the MCG and Bay Oval this summer. Photo / Photosport
Captain Kane Williamson's ready to shoulder the responsibility of redemption at the Melbourne Cricket Ground this summer.
All going to plan, Williamson will lead New Zealand into the MCG on Boxing Day, ending the country's 32-year test hiatus at the hallowed venue.
The 29-year-old's tasked with sating the appetite ofa generation of Kiwi cricket fans whose memories of the 1987 denouement tend to filter through a cynical lens.
The match finished in a draw with a potential result in the offing for both sides during the final overs. Richard Hadlee and Danny Morrison duelled with Craig McDermott and Mike Whitney, Australia's last batting pair.
Whitney played out the final over from Hadlee after McDermott survived a confident lbw appeal from Morrison, eight balls from the end.
The subsequent replay prompted Channel Nine commentator and former Australian wicketkeeper Rod Marsh to deliver a candidate for cricketing understatement of the 20th century.
"I think the New Zealanders could regard themselves as reasonably unfortunate there," he mused.
The incident remains one of this country's cult sporting moments.
New Zealand's MCG return shapes as the jewel in a "triple crown" test summer in which the Black Caps meet England, Australia and India.
Williamson's familiar with Boxing Day test fever from his childhood Christmases. Fixtures provided a backdrop on the telly. He's already soaking up the impending hype.
"For it to happen in our lifetime is an exciting prospect. It's one of those things like your first opportunity to play at Lord's — there's a romantic part to it.
"People you meet on the streets come up and tell you they're coming along. Sometimes I wonder if half of New Zealand has bought tickets and flights."
Black Caps captain Kane Williamson is particularly looking forward to matches at the MCG and Bay Oval this summer. Photo / Photosport
Another match also holds significance for the Tauranga resident this summer.
Bay Oval will be anointed New Zealand's ninth test venue on November 21 with the arrival of England. A selection of the skipper's closest cricketing confidantes have been pivotal in getting the Mt Maunganui ground on to the sport's biggest stage.
"The ground's just down the road from where I live," Williamson says.
"I pop in when I'm home and see so many familiar faces, so to be awarded a test is special to the community and all the people who have put in to make it happen.
"Such an effort has gone into improving the ground and training facilities as part of the big picture."
Spending time at home can be a difficult ask in the transient life of a professional cricketer. Williamson suggests the difference between one season and another can be "about two nights in your own bed".
However, walking the streets or beach of Mt Maunganui in recent weeks has rekindled memories of another ground, Lord's, after losing the World Cup final to England by zero runs in July.
If Williamson had hoped the result might fade in fans' minds, he's been mistaken.
"Just when you think you've moved past it, the next person pops along and has an emotional response, which is cool because it shows the impact of the match and the World Cup collectively."
Among the layers of intrigue surrounding New Zealand's summer are the players they will face. Williamson's relishing the prospect of strategising against the guile of Steve Smith and the might of Ben Stokes.
He says Smith's form, scoring 774 runs at an average of 110.57 to retain the Ashes for Australia, has been extraordinary.
"If he doesn't get a hundred it's almost considered a failure at the moment, which is an incredible feat, unrivalled maybe apart from Sir Don [Bradman]. He's been phenomenal with his consistency."
Stokes' World Cup final heroics, followed by his engineering of a third Ashes test recovery and victory at Headingley has also caught Williamson's eye for his "high impact approach as an X-factor player".
One potential antidote for New Zealand in the coming weeks might be Lockie Ferguson.
His 21 World Cup wickets — the second-most behind Australia's Mitchell Starc — have had pundits speculating when the 28-year-old will be introduced in the longest form, along the lines of how England injected Jofra Archer into the Ashes.
Williamson's confirmed Ferguson will be in the test frame, albeit as part of a pace bowling logjam given the success of Trent Boult, Tim Southee and Neil Wagner in recent years.
"Lockie's been outstanding for a number of years and he's shown resilience with his body, because it's a tough art bowling at 140-150 kilometres per hour.
"He's more than capable but, in terms of selection discussions, there's obviously been nothing [yet]. But he's progressed in high pressure situations, for example the World Cup.
"We're blessed to have such depth in the bowling department which is rare, and can ebb and flow."
