Kane Williamson appeared to hint that not much is left in his career by admitting that the upcoming first Test match between England and New Zealand, which starts on Thursday (June 4th), will be his final outing at the Lord’s Cricket Ground in London.
The veteran New Zealand batter will be a key part of the Tom Latham-led side that will aim to win a Test series on English soil once again after their triumph under Williamson’s leadership in 2021.
On being asked by a reported if this will be the final time he plays at the ground, Williamson accepted that it in all probability is with a shade of sadness in his voice and joked with the media personnel that the questions were delaying his lunch,
“Yeah it probably is, eh? And you’re delaying my lunch, which isn’t very good of you,” said Williamson in a pre-match press conference.
The New Zealand cricket legend has developed a special relationship with the ground as he played for Middlesex last year in a unique deal. The 35-year-old played for them in county cricket as well as for their side in the ‘The Hundred’ London Spirits.
Williamson spoke glowingly about the ground and praised how the ground authorities have managed to maintain the tradition He claimed that playing a Test at the iconic venue is special because of the history around it.
“It’s always a special Test. think if you look over your career, you only get… well depends on how long you play for… but yeah, I’ve played for a while and you only get a handful of opportunities to come to Lords and play.
“I think the way they maintain the tradition, is quite special. It’s unique to Lords; the history that surrounds it, the effort that goes into, to all of that, you come here and you, you notice those differences to all other grounds,” said Williamson.
“Walking out to the pitch through the long room, bumping into a few members, and obviously the lunches are iconic. There’s a number of things that are memorable here. But it is a special place to play and I think everybody feels that their first time and also values every opportunity that they have. To have the experience that you have here. I know for a number of players in the dressing room, it’s their first time and they’re pretty excited at that prospect,” Williamson added.
The veteran Kiwi batter has played four Test matches at the venue since his first appearance in 2013 with just 256 runs in eight innings. He has scored one century at the venue, which came in 2015. He also has another half-century. He has played three ODIs at the venue but only has a highest score of 40.