As evidence of the Black Caps’ impressive top order resources for next year’s T20 World Cup, coach Rob Walter faces a nearly impossible choice: Kane Williamson or Rachin Ravindra?
In test and one-day international cricket (ODI), neither of the pair’s positions is in doubt.
Even at 35 and on a casual playing agreement, Williamson commands the No 3 spot in both sides.
Ravindra, meanwhile, has seen his importance to the Black Caps increase after grabbing the position of ODI opener and test No 4 with both hands and being awarded The Players’ Cap by his teammates as recognition of his contribution to the team over the past year.
But in T20 cricket, quickly becoming the driving force of the sport at all levels, there is cause to believe the New Zealand batting order can’t fit both.
At the top of the order, Tim Seifert is effectively guaranteed his spot as wicketkeeper, while Finn Allen looms as his likely opening partner, considering his abilities as an out-and-out match-winner.
The security of that opening pair leaves Williamson and Ravindra battling for the No 3 spot in next year’s tournament.
That’s also not considering depth in the form of Tim Robinson, who scored an unbeaten 106 deputising for Ravindra against Australia, or all-format regular Devon Conway.
Last year, as New Zealand crashed out of the T20 World Cup, Williamson vacated the No 3 position and moved himself one place down the order to allow Ravindra to take a spot that has by right been his for most of his career.
But having missed out on the summer-opening series against Australia and England, Williamson has limited opportunities at the international level – at home to the West Indies and away to India – to prove his worth in the shortest format.
Given his standing in the game in New Zealand, owning close to every batting record conceivable, Williamson will be given that chance to earn a place, coach Walter said.
Asked whether there was room for himself and Williamson, though, Ravindra outlined there should be an opportunity for both players.
“Honestly, I’m not sure,” Ravindra said. “That’s something for the coaches and selectors, it’s a bit above my pay grade.
“I know how talented a player Kane is, his experience, and how he’s done it for a number of years for New Zealand.
“Whatever happens, we’ll accommodate him – whatever that result may be.”
The top order squeeze will be new to Williamson. In an international career that began in 2010, it has only been in the past two years that he has stepped back from his role as the Black Caps’ most important batter.
A casual playing agreement means Williamson can opt out of international duty if it clashes with franchise T20 opportunities, as seen when he skipped New Zealand’s tour of Zimbabwe earlier this year.
In his absence, Ravindra has seized the mantle of being the Black Caps’ best. At this year’s Champions Trophy in Pakistan and the UAE the duo shared a 164-run semifinal stand in victory over South Africa.
And for all Williamson’s brilliance in making 102, he was outshone by Ravindra’s 108. In fact, Ravindra’s ascension to the top of New Zealand’s order came at the 2023 World Cup, as Williamson made a miraculous recovery from an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
In every respect, Williamson has earned the right to take breaks where he can, in an increasingly cluttered cricket calendar. But the risk factor in allowing opportunities for others in his place has been realised.
It’s not Williamson’s ability that’s in question, it’s his ability to score quickly. His career strike rate (runs scored per 100 balls faced) of 123 is pedestrian in a format where batting records continue to fall.
Among his top order competition, that strike rate leaves him behind Ravindra (137), as well as Allen (163), Seifert (141), Robinson (137) and Conway (128).
But if the Black Caps are determined to shoehorn Williamson into the side, a spot in the middle order might just have to do.
And considering the T20 World Cup will be played in India and Sri Lanka, on pitches assisted to aid spin and limit free-scoring players, Williamson’s ability to rotate strike would be worth its weight in gold.
“There are all sorts of possibilities in that space,” said Black Caps batting coach Luke Ronchi. “It’s a different role, he has the capabilities to play those roles, because he’s a great batsman.
“But it’s [about] making sure the fit of the group and the team, and how that manifests itself within the game style you’re trying to play works.
“He’s effectively been a No 3/opener in T20 cricket his whole career. It’s a change in style, which sometimes is hard for people to pick up.
“But he’s a quality player that can play different roles in different stages of an innings.”
Still, that would leave Williamson fighting with Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman and newcomer Bevon Jacobs for a place in the middle order.
It’s not a bad choice for selectors to have to make.
Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.