Kane Williamson stepped down from New Zealand Test captaincy on Thursday, December 15, with Tim Southee taking over in the role.
Williamson had taken over the Test captaincy from Brendon McCullum following his retirement in 2016 and led his side in 40 Tests: winning 22, losing ten and drawing eight games. Only Stephen Fleming has captained in more Tests than Williamson among New Zealanders.
The 32-year-old had led the Blackcaps to the title win in the inaugural World Test Championship last year, with an eight-wicket win over India in the final at the Ageas Bowl.
“Captaining the Blackcaps in Test cricket has been an incredibly special honour. For me, Test cricket is the pinnacle of the game and I’ve enjoyed the challenges of leading the side in the format.
“Captaincy comes with an increased workload on and off the field and at this stage of my career I feel the time is right for this decision. After discussions with NZC, we felt that continuing to captain the white-ball formats was preferable with two World Cups in the next two years,”
he said.
Williamson will continue to lead the Kiwis in ODIs and T20Is, with Tim Southee to take over as Test captain. His tenure will begin with the first Test against Pakistan in Karachi, beginning December 26.
Southee has already led New Zealand in 22 T20Is and an ODI till date, and is set to become New Zealand’s 31st Test captain. The right-arm quick, who has bagged 347 wickets from 88 Tests till date, reflected on the new responsibility.
“It’s been a surreal few days and it’s just a massive honour to be appointed as Test captain. I love Test cricket, it’s the ultimate challenge and I’m really excited by the opportunity to lead the team in this format. Kane’s been an outstanding Test captain and I’m looking forward to working with [coach] Gary [Stead] on how we can build on that,”
he said.
Head coach Gary Stead acknowledged Williamson’s contribution as a leader, and backed Southee to “continue to bring an aggressive style” in the format for the Blackcaps.
“Kane’s guided the Test team through an immensely successful period which is testament to his ability to bring people together and work towards a common goal.
“Tim’s a quality leader with a good cricket brain. We’ve seen his captaincy skills on display with the T20 side and I’m sure he’ll continue to bring an aggressive style, whilst still maintaining the core fundamentals of how this BLACKCAPS team operates in the Test arena.”
New Zealand have already been knocked out of the race to the World Test Championship 2023 final, having just won two of the nine Tests they have played in the ongoing cycle. The upcoming Test tour will be their first to Pakistan since 2002.
