Williamson remained unbeaten on 48 from 82 balls at Day 3 at Dunedin. © Getty Images
In the first Test against Sri Lanka Dunedin, Kane Williamson achieved the milestone of a 1,000 Test runs in year 2015. Given that New Zealand play lesser Tests than most other full members, it is a rare feat. It is of little surprise that Williamson is one of only two Black Caps batsmen to have achieved the feat in history of the game; the other was achieved only last year by skipper Brendon McCullum. On this occassion, Rishad D’Souza thinks it fitting to unearth the numbers that have driven the little maestro in 2015.
Williamson has fully realised his potential in the year 2015 to pile some astounding numbers. Going into this match against Sri Lanka, Williamson was just 96 short of becoming the only second New Zealand batsman to reach the milestone in question. Given the supremely high quality he has maintained through the course of the year, it was no surprise that Williamson did not delay the feat for the next match against the same opposition which will be New Zealand’s last in this calendar year. .Live Cricket Scorecard: New Zealand vs Sri Lanka 2015-16, 1st Test at Dunedin
In the first innings of the match he knocked off 88 runs to the feat leaving himself with a meagre eight runs to accomplish the rare milestone. In the second innings he got past that mark with little effort. He’s currently batting at 48, 40 runs clear of the milestone already. In fact he has a realistic chance to topple McCullum’s record for most Test runs in a year — 1,164.
On that note, let’s take a look at the most runs scored by New Zealand batsmen in a calendar year:
| Player | Matches | Innings | Runs | HS | Avg | 100s | 50s | Year |
| Brendon McCullum | 9 | 16 | 1164 | 302 | 72.75 | 4 | 0 | 2014 |
| Kane Williamson | 7 | 14 | 1040 | 242* | 94.54 | 4 | 3 | 2015* |
| Kane Williamson | 9 | 17 | 929 | 192 | 61.93 | 4 | 2 | 2014 |
| John Reid | 13 | 24 | 871 | 128 | 36.29 | 1 | 6 | 1965 |
| Ross Taylor | 10 | 17 | 866 | 217* | 72.16 | 3 | 4 | 2013 |
| Martin Crowe | 10 | 17 | 820 | 188 | 51.25 | 2 | 4 | 1985 |
| Ross Taylor | 10 | 18 | 819 | 142 | 54.6 | 3 | 2 | 2012 |
| Ross Taylor | 12 | 22 | 818 | 154* | 38.95 | 2 | 4 | 2008 |
| Ross Taylor | 8 | 14 | 782 | 151 | 55.85 | 2 | 4 | 2009 |
| Daniel Vettori | 8 | 14 | 779 | 140 | 59.92 | 3 | 3 | 2009 |
Note that Kane Williamson came within touching distance of the record even the previous year.
In the table what is of staggering note, is Williamson’s average. At 94.54 it won’t be wrong to say his numbers have been Bradmanesque this year. Among the five batsmen who have breached the 1,000-run mark in 2015 so far, Williamson is comfortably the batsman with the highest average.
The below table reflects the five 1,000+ scorers in 2015 so far sorted on basis of batting average.
| Player | Team | Matches | Innings | Runs | HS | Avg | 100s |
| Kane Williamson | New Zealand | 7 | 14 | 1040 | 242* | 94.54 | 4 |
| Steven Smith | Australia | 12 | 22 | 1270 | 215 | 63.5 | 5 |
| Joe Root | England | 13 | 24 | 1288 | 182* | 61.33 | 3 |
| Alastair Cook | England | 13 | 24 | 1357 | 263 | 59 | 3 |
| David Warner | Australia | 12 | 22 | 1277 | 253 | 58.04 | 4 |
The table is also revealing of the disparity in number of Tests played by countries like Australia and England in comparison to New Zealand. However, the main focus is the average and Williamson’s figure in this year is 31 better than the next best among batsmen with a minimum of 1,000 runs in 2015. ALSO READ: Kane Williamson: Reason for New Zealand’s resurgence in Tests
Most importantly, Williamson has comprehensively outshone himself in this calendar year in every single aspect of his game. Not only has his averaged ballooned to a surreal level but he’s even significantly upped his strike-rate. Even his personal best score of an unbeaten 242 came in this calendar year.
| Year | Matches | Innings | Runs | HS | Avg | SR | 100s |
| 2010 | 3 | 5 | 212 | 131 | 42.4 | 43.71 | 1 |
| 2011 | 5 | 10 | 276 | 68 | 27.6 | 48.5 | 0 |
| 2012 | 10 | 18 | 559 | 135 | 32.88 | 37.92 | 2 |
| 2013 | 11 | 19 | 747 | 114 | 41.5 | 43.15 | 1 |
| 2014 | 9 | 17 | 929 | 192 | 61.93 | 50.54 | 4 |
| 2015 | 7 | 14 | 1040 | 242* | 94.54 | 59.29 | 4 |
The above table highlights one very intriguing and positive aspect of Williamson’s development as a batsman. Following from year 2012, his statistics have steadily been on an upward curve.
It is often said that numbers do not paint the entire picture. They reveal quantity but it is difficult to decipher the quality based on them. But anyone who has watched Williamson bat know that he is more than just about hollow numbers. He brings a text-book elegance coupled with uncanny levels of concentration to the game; those are features incredibly rare in the modern game.
He has the ability to overcome the most challenging of conditions across the world. Repeatedly coming to the rescue of his team in a dire situation in a peculiarly calm, composed yet determined way has earned him the title ‘Steady The Ship’ which is used extensively on Twitter when he bats in those situations.
Ever since his debut in 2010, Williamson radiated an amazing aura in Test matches which spoke of his potential to be a true great. This is the year he has done the greatest justice to that bursting potential and Test cricket lovers will hope that he produces more years of similar yield with supremely classic skill.
(Rishad D’Souza, a reporter with CricketCountry, gave up hopes of playing Test cricket after a poor gully-cricket career. He now reports on the sport. You can follow @RDcric on Twitter)