Published 08:56 IST, December 6th 2019
Brendon McCullum's 2011 prophecy on Kane Williamson trumps Ricky Ponting's criticism
It was as early as 2011 when Brendon McCullum predicted the greatness current NZ skipper Kane Williamson would achieve in his career. Read Ponting's confession
New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson is currently third on the ICC Test batting rankings with a rating of 877. Many would argue that he is indeed one of the top 3 batsmen in the modern game, but if you asked former Australia captain Ricky Ponting in 2011 about this, he would have commented otherwise. In an interview with cricket.com.au, Ponting opened up about his early reservations about the Kiwi captain.
Brendon McCullum predicted Kane Williamson's greatness
In 2011, a 21-year-old Williamson was touring Australia as a part of the New Zealand squad and was not able to make too much of his chances. Williamson only managed an average of 18 in the Test series and left Australian legend Ricky Ponting unimpressed. When Ponting's ex-KKR teammate and former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum prophecised privately that Williamson would go on to become one of the best players in the world, Ponting was not buying any of it. Ponting had noticed how Williamson was weak on his off stump and was overhitting the red ball during a Test series held in Australia that year.
Ricky Ponting acknowledges Kane Williamson's stature
However, Ponting admitted that he was wrong about his previous opinion on Williamson, which has changed over the years and deservedly so. The former Australian World Cup-winning captain talked about Williamson's increasing maturity and where he stands amongst the best batsmen in the world, alongside the likes of Steve Smith. He compared both the players in terms of being very composed during their innings and hard to dismiss. Ponting predicted that the only way to get Williamson out is to 'get him out of his bubble' and do something unconventional with a field placement to get him thinking. Australia are coming off a thumping victory against Pakistan and New Zealand are coming off a series win against England. The Blackcaps will now tour Australia and will play three Tests with the first one starting on December 12 at Perth.
Updated 09:22 IST, December 6th 2019