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Kane Williamson of Northern Districts - Source: Photosport -
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Is it too soon for the NZ selectors to be blooding teenager
Kane Williamson into Test cricket? Two of tvnz.co.nz 's sport
writers go head-to-head in another debate for argument's
sake.
Spin doctors no match for Kane
By Chris Matthews
The selection of teenager Kane Williamson for the second Test against Australia in Hamilton is a risk, if he plays that is, but more likely a timely intervention for New Zealand's hopeless Test side.
It's a strategic move that any of the country's finest spin doctors would be proud of and one that has certainly taken the heat off Daniel Vettori's lame ducks leading into another mismatch of epic proportions.
Instead of the country's armchair critics debating and dissecting the embarrassing 10-wicket capitulation at the Basin Reserve, here we are discussing whether it is too early for 19-year-old Williamson to be thrown into world cricket's most daunting of gauntlets.
This propaganda theory was given more weight overnight with the late call-up of Wellington all-rounder James Franklin. Franklin is now likely to end up being a straight swap for the injured Daryl Tuffey.
So what was all the commotion about Williamson, I hear you say?
Unfortunately it is yet another example of a sporting body throwing us an almighty curve ball.
However, like all conspiracy theories, this one could end up being off the mark and with that admission, there is a chance that Williamson could yet play. And let's hope he does.
The Northern Districts prodigy has scored heavily in the second half of the Plunket Shield and, by all accounts, has the temperament and the technique to play at the highest level.
The reluctance to select him stems from the decade of horror stories, where Ken Rutherford and Martin Crowe were introduced at a similar age and ended up playing the roles of lambs to the slaughter.
But as good as this Aussie pace attack is, they pale in comparison to the ability and intimidation of those days where Marshall, Garner, Lillie and Thomson collectively frightened the hell out of many a young batsman.
World cricket in recent times has also seen some of the best talent introduced at a tender age. Indeed the generation's two heaviest scorers, in Ricky Ponting and Sachin Tendulkar, were just 20 and 16 when they made their Test debuts.
Williamson will probably never be mentioned in their ilk, but one just has to recall a stunning Test debut a few months ago by Pakistani 19-year-old Umar Akmal at Dunedin's University Oval to know that age is an insignificant factor.
And for all Pakistan's failings they, along with subcontinent superpower India, know young talent when they see it, elevate them and then - generally - reap the rewards.
They certainly wouldn't go down the path of promoting a 31-year-old journeyman that claims, ahem, to have the footwork of Virender Sehwag.
So it's simple really: If Williamson really is one of the best 11 cricketers in the country let's see what the kid's got because it's surely better than what Peter Ingram has to offer.
Not quite time to raise the Kane
By Max Bania
He's the run machine of New Zealand domestic cricket. Not even Mathew Sinclair can keep up.
They say he has the best back-foot defence in the country. They say he has the cricketing nous of a veteran; maturity beyond his years.
But in the heat of battle against the mentally toughest side in world cricket, will 19-year-old Kane be able?
There's a school of thought that if you're good enough, you're old enough. Look at the boy and girl wonders plying the tennis circuit, rugby backlines and various other sports around the world.
Trouble is, Anna Kournikova's career was over at 22, while Ian Thorpe was just 24 when he hung up the swimsuit.
Meanwhile, the likes of Ponting, Kallis and Dravid are piling on the runs into their mid-30s and beyond.
Cricket is not a young man's game, you see. The average age of the number one-ranked Indian team is well over 30. The touring Aussies are older still.
Sure, there are young success stories like Daniel Vettori. But people tend to forget the failures, like Ken Rutherford's premature elevation to the Test team. Has Tim Southee already been blooded too early?
More than any other mainstream sport except golf, cricket is a game played in the head. A game mastered only through years of experience, adversity and disappointment; a game in which the whole world is out to get you with each ball you face.
Then there's the issue of timing. Williamson would be on a hiding to nothing making a one-off debut against Australia, especially if the conditions in Hamilton are as bowler-friendly as they are said to be.
With morale low and defeat to the Aussies a foregone conclusion, throwing Williamson into battle would be a cricketing hospital pass of Luke McAlister proportions.
Especially when just weeks around the corner is the World Twenty20; the ideal stage upon which to launch a burgeoning career.
Williamson is undoubtedly a rare talent and a well-balanced young man, on and off the field. But his cricketing career is in its infancy, and there will be a serious schooling waiting for him courtesy of Australia's four-pronged pace attack.
His time will come. It's just that now isn't quite the time for the selectors to be raising Kane.
Former NZ cricket legend Martin Crowe thinks the Black Caps should have resisted the selection of Kane Williamson , but do you agree? Feel free to comment below.
Add a Comment:
Post new commentMB said on 2010-03-26 @ 10:53 NZDT: Report abusive post
For all the talk of whether Williamson can handle the pace of the Aus bowlers, it wasn't the pace (or the bowlers) that did NZ in Test 1 - it was the insistence on batting like it was a 20-20 game. Is it actually a change of personnel we need - or a change in attitude? A willingness to bat time, rather than getting anxious if a maiden is bowled. Our batsmen seem to think their job's done if they score 40 or 50, and they then have a license to hit out. This loses us tests.
shandoa said on 2010-03-26 @ 01:10 NZDT: Report abusive post
Yes. But as it's harder to get in to the team than be dropped for abysmal play...over weeks, I don't fancy his starting chances...but live in hopes
CPLCrash said on 2010-03-25 @ 18:38 NZDT: Report abusive post
Franklin should not be in the team as a batsman, his record as one is outstanding, for a 10 year old maybe. Kane should be given the position down the order for a minimum of a year.
CPLCrash said on 2010-03-25 @ 18:31 NZDT: Report abusive post
Look at Mark Taylor, told the place in the team was his for 12 months, look at his career, do the same. Team should be Watling, McIntosh, Guptil, Taylor, Sinclair, Williamson, Vitorri, Mccullum, Southee, Franklin, Martin
sillysilly said on 2010-03-25 @ 15:32 NZDT: Report abusive post
Might as well. Cause there's no chance of NZ winning the way they're going, maybe he is NZ's trump? Only one way to find out.