Cricket: Why Kane Williamson stepped down as Black Caps test captain

Outgoing test captain Kane Williamson with successor Tim Southee. Photo / photosport.nz

Kane Williamson believes the time is right to let go of his true love, for the good of his future and the fortunes of the Black Caps.

New Zealand’s most successful test skipper has called his last toss while wearing the whites, yesterday announcing he will relinquish the captaincy in his favourite format and be succeeded by Tim Southee.

Williamson will remain in the test team as a specialist batsman – his first taste of that role since 2016 will be on Boxing Day in Pakistan – while continuing to lead the limited-overs sides.

And it’s those twin intentions that prompted Williamson to relinquish the reins. The cricket schedule is unrelenting and, wishing to extend his career in all formats, Williamson hopes this move will assist in keeping his calendar full.

“It’s a tough decision, purely with the attachment to and love for the test game – I see it as the pinnacle,” Williamson said. “There’ll be a bit of a transition, having done it in this format for a long time. Letting that go a little bit and supporting from a slightly different perspective, I’m looking forward to adapting that role as well as I can and continuing to enjoy my cricket.

“It’s about looking to be proactive and looking ahead about the volume of cricket coming up. Doing it for a long time in three formats, sharing [the captaincy] is a positive thing because it does take a lot of energy, and the number of times it’s been mentioned with the leaders in the environment, it’s a nice opportunity.”

Discussions about splitting the burden had intensified in the last few months, a natural step at the end of any cycle. That arrived after defeat in the semifinals of the T20 World Cup, but with two more white-ball tournaments coming in the next two years, the Black Caps’ leadership group decided their long-term skipper would be best utilised in the shorter forms.

Williamson never considered retiring from any format, aged 32 and with a troublesome elbow injury behind him, still wanting to face as many throwdowns as ever. But he was realistic that something – potentially his body – would likely give under the ever-increasing workload.

“It’s been an ongoing discussion, not specifically formats but workload,” he said. “Wanting to keep making sure I’m putting in my energy in the right places and, with major events next year, it kind of transpired the way it has.

“I certainly love playing the test game. It’s literally around just trying to manage my energy as best as possible – not just me but what’s in the best interest of the team? What do we want to do, what do we want to target? I do love captaincy and the elements that it brings, but it does require that energy.

“It is a privilege and an honour, but a challenge as well. You are well supported, and I have been over the years, but when you do it for a long period of time with so much cricket on – the volume and nature of it – then it’s a really nice opportunity to share that.”

Williamson relinquishes that honour with a 55 per cent winning record from 40 matches, a record figure for a New Zealand test captain. But now, according to coach Gary Stead, was hardly the time to eulogise one of the true greats.

“He is still captaining for us in two formats and we’ve got two World Cups just around the corner,” Stead said. “This is an opportunity for us to keep growing as a unit as well – it’s not necessarily about the end of Kane Williamson.”