Cricket: Turner sees a ton of promise

Two things impressed New Zealand cricket selector Glenn Turner about Kane Williamson's debut ton against India last week - his ability to play off the back foot and his century celebrations.

Or lack of them.

Williamson could not have made a more emphatic statement as the youngest New Zealander to score a century on test debut. It showed why he is likely to be a permanent fixture in the Black Caps for the next decade and beyond.

His ability to attack and defend off the back foot was a pleasure to watch and, apart from appearing to snick one behind on 56, he looked far from troubled against the best test side in the world, albeit on a dead Ahmedabad wicket.

What is less well known about him is his strength of character, the family support and the hours of practice and learning behind those runs.

Turner says he has rated Williamson for years but was impressed by his undemonstrative reaction on scoring his ton. Williamson simply took off his helmet and raised his bat rather than producing any whooping-type carry on.

"It strikes me that player agents and the like want their charges to play up to crowd [and cameras] in a way they think makes them popular. Then others ape that.

"Williamson actually responded the way he felt, in a more conservative fashion. It indicated he felt the job wasn't done. If you let yourself go too much emotionally, it's hard to get yourself back."

Turner should know as the only New Zealander to score a century of first-class centuries with 103. He says the highlight of Williamson's innings was his ability to play off the back foot and counter the Indian spin bowling so effectively.

"We could do with a few more like him. I remember I did some work with the under-19s, when Kane was a bit younger than the rest of the group at 16. He stood out not only because of his natural talent but because he was one of the few who asked any questions.

"He was mocked and teased a bit by others for doing so, but I thought he's one guy who is keen to learn."

Memories of Williamson's childhood go way back for some folk in the Bay of Plenty - recollections not just of skill but also character. That's why many rate him better than just-another-schoolboy-prodigy.

David Johnston, now the general manager of Bay of Plenty Cricket, first saw Williamson when he was about 10 and helped coach him along the way.

Two moments stand out for him; the first at a primary schools tournament in Gisborne where Williamson's Dad Brett was coach and swapped the batting order of his son's team after they had won their first two games - to give some others a chance.

The inevitable happened and the top order collapsed. Kane, batting at seven, ended up scoring a hundred off the penultimate ball of the game when his side was nine wickets down.

The main point of the story was that without prompting, Williamson stood before the boundary rope and clapped his batting partner off the field, to demonstrate it was more than a one man show.

Johnston's second memory is Williamson scoring 120 not out in a winning chase of 160 at an intermediate school tournament. He worked the strike in such a way that he faced every ball of the last five overs.

"He has always been a balanced young man," Johnston says.

"He has a great family support network [parents Brett and Sandra and siblings Kylie, Anna, Sophie and twin Logan] and his huge work ethic has never changed. He had more centuries by the time he got to [Tauranga Boys] College than most cricketers score in their lives."

Johnston says Williamson will learn plenty playing against the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and the rest of the Indian batsmen.

"He's naturally inquisitive and he learns by watching then doing. I reckon one of the best things to come from this trip will be Kane standing in the field watching the Indians batting. He always wants to try new things and is unfazed by failure, as we saw from his first few one-day innings."