The Pink Report

As Good As It Gets

What a brilliant, positive week it’s been for the Yahoo!NZ Northern Knights.

• The team has become the first to chalk up the maximum 20 points from a match under New Zealand Cricket’s new points system;
• Kane Williamson has set a new record individual score;
• Tim Southee has taken one of his best hauls in a first-class innings, 7/37 (his all-time best is 8/27);
• Everyone had the pleasure of seeing a colossal 600 runs up on the scoreboard;
• The Firepests got smashed inside three days by an innings and 230 runs;
• And last but not least, Trent Boult has won his maiden call-up to the BLACKCAPS’ test squad, alongside four of his ND team-mates in Tim, Kane Williamson, Daniel Vettori and BJ Watling.

Maybe we should play Wellington in Canterbury more often!

Obviously all three matches taking place in Canterbury was ideal for Kim Littlejohn and John Wright to see all the contenders for themselves. Trent’s selection is great news for a youngster who’s bowling is just on fire at the moment. Last week after his strong opening performance in Whangarei I mentioned to Boulty that I thought he was in with a good shout for the tour.

“To be honest it’s not a big incentive at the moment, but if it happens, I’ll take it as it comes,” he replied very modestly. “Personally I’m just really looking forward to trying to improve on and add to last year’s performance, especially in the Plunket Shield, and also really looking to impress in the shorter formats of the game.”

It’s not the first time he’s been named in a Blackcaps squad - a few years ago, former coach Andy Moles brought him in as a young stripling for a three-match ODI Chappell-Hadlee Series, but he didn’t play - and despite his promise it seemed all a bit too much, too soon to me. Since then Trent’s overcome a testing back injury, the sort that cuts down a lot of young tearaways; worked his way back to the top and now he’s set to join what should be a very promising and exciting test tour of Australia. Congratulations Boulty.

That other young man from the Bay of Plenty has obviously had a week to remember, too. Kane Williamson knuckled down for almost 10 hours to build a goliath innings of 284 not out, off 400 balls. And this was no slow plod: from all accounts his strokeplay was crisp and lovely as ever as assorted batting targets went tumbling.

Scoring runs is not just Kane’s profession: it’s his passion. So I caught up with him this morning to talk us through his new personal best.

Me:  Well, did you get a sleep in this morning? You might deserve one!
Kane: Ha, no - I had an early flight. But I’m back home now which is great.

Me: What a game that was.
Kane: Yeah, a good few days! Two really competitive sides, but we obviously played the better cricket throughout the three days.

Me: And because the team also became the first to get 20 points. I think that underscores what a complete performance it was.
Kane: Yeah, I think bowlers did really well on a good track. They put the ball in good areas against Wellington’s strong batting line-up.

Me: What was the ball doing on the first day?
Kane: There was a bit of swing and a little bit of sideways movement, but it was the areas in which the bowlers put the ball that was the key. And Wellington struggled to do the same to us when it was our turn to bat. Obviously on the first day, early morning, the wicket is going to be a little bit friendly to seam bowlers - you’d certainly hope so, but we really capitalised on what movement there may have been by putting the ball in good areas consistently.

Me: Obviously you weren’t at the first match, but it was picking up straight where they left off in Whangarei, having hit their marks and bowled really good channels there.
Kane: It’s a good group of bowlers in the ND side at the moment, that’s for sure.

Me: Tim’s seven-for set it all up for you at Lincoln.
Kane: Absolutely. He’s been coming back from injury so finding that rhythm and bowling very well was really good for him. And just to see him get some overs under his belt and get some wickets before Australia was great.

Me: Have you had a text or call from Flynny? You’ve murdered his 241, the now-busted record that he set earlier this year at Seddon Park.
Kane: Yeah, I spoke to Flynny the other day. I’ll probably catch up with him today, actually. We’ve had a bit of banter, but it’s all good stuff!

Me: It’s amazing that it’s been broken just three games later... all the more so when you think back to the record that Flynny broke. Scott Styris made that record 212 not out, then James Marshall broke it very next game with 235. Talk about one-upmanship!
Kane: Yeah, it’s hard case, isn’t it! Who would have thought.

Me: So what did you think when you got to Lincoln and saw the conditions that first day?
Kane: It was obviously a good cricket wicket, but in a way it’s always the same: you go out and try to make good decisions and see how long you can do that for. And I definitely did that for quite a long time.

Me: How fatigued did you get?
Kane: Coming into that third day, the morning, I started feeling quite fatigued, but it wasn’t too bad. It was a good temperature to bat in, so it wasn’t too draining. And then it got cold on the last afternoon, which was quite nice, actually - a bit of a change from the 40 degree heat in Zimbabwe.

Me: You were on the field for 1,202 minutes: all but 23 minutes of the match!
Kane: Really? Yeah, I guess that would be right.

Me: So how did your brain feel at the end of the day?
Kane: Coming off the field after that, I didn’t realise at first just how tired I was. I was little but drained, but nothing too bad. You have a “hot and cold” soak, have a good stretch and eat some good food after each day which all helps you turn up the next day feeling a little bit fresher.

Me: Could you see the Wellington attack and players getting frustrated and weary?
Kane: No, I think on a track like that you’ve got to hold your nerve and know that there’s going to be a bit of toil to take wickets. But I think we went really well. With each of our players that came out, we managed to put on good partnerships and hold the momentum for most of the game. That was probably the key to the good batting performance.

Me: Because you couldn’t have batted as long as you did otherwise.
Kane: Exactly. You look at the partnerships and almost right from the word go it was a hundred-run partnership, another hundred-run partnership, a fifty-run partnership... We were consistent.  

Me: Were there any balls that nearly got you?
Kane: There were a couple of balls that turned out of the rough from Jeetan Patel. But it was a good wicket, so it was a matter of making good decisions, in the main.

Me: You were on 252 not out overnight with Graeme Aldridge in good touch at the other end. How and when did Brad go about discussing the likely declaration for the following day?
Kane: Oh, there was a bit of chat about it overnight. We talked as a team about what sort of total we wanted to get to. It certainly wasn’t a surprise or anything.

Me: People are criticising Brad for it in retrospect, for calling you in short of a maiden 300, which is a rare thing in the game of course.
Kane: But it’s all about winning the game and we managed to do that. We ended up with a day spare, but on a track like that, against the kind of batting order Wellington had, we felt it was going to take a long time to dismiss them. We got on a bit of a roll and it turned out different, but there was no way of knowing or guessing that would be the case.

Me: We before me! Isn’t that what Grant Bradburn always says?
Kane: Yeah exactly, it’s a team game, isn’t it? And because I was ‘in’,  towards the end they were giving me singles so they could get the other batsman on strike and target him...

Me: Clearly you’ve trucked into the 2011/12 season in great form, both in Zimbabwe and now here. What did you get out of your first County experience? I had heard your bowling actually turned out to benefit the most.
Kane: No, I don’t think so. I bowled a few overs, bowled quite a bit in the shorter version; but just batting day-in, day-out and having the experience in different conditions in England, with different balls, makes you a better player. It was quite tough at times, but like they say, if you get through those tough times and come out of them, hopefully you’re better for it.

Me: Five ND players in the the test squad, but it’s going to be particularly nice to be going to Australia with Trent Boult alongside you.
Kane: Yeah for sure. Boulty’s really deserved his spot. He’s bowled consistently each game and it’s exciting for Trent.

Me: Were you with him when he got the magic phone call?
Kane: Yeah, it was quite hard case. Everyone gets rung the night before the team is announced, and I was in the room next door to Tim, and Tim was in the room next door to Trent. Everyone’s phone went within 10 minutes of each other, so after we got our calls, we were listening on his door to see if his phone was ringing. And sure enough!

Me: I reckon Trent looks a little bit musclier than he did last season. Like he’s filled out.
Kane: He has. And he’s working out a lot and he’s a lot stronger. It’s good.

Me: Congrats on the Northern Districts record, Kane. You’re always held in such high regard by the team and I’m sure your family was just thrilled for you.
Kane: Cheers, yeah it was good. My family were following it closely and so it was nice to give them something to celebrate. Every game I play, I go out trying to do something like that - to keep making the right decisions. So it was very satisfying.