Kane Williamson hit his 30th Test century, further improving his remarkable home record against South Africa in the first Test at Mount Maunganui.
South Africa entered the Test match with six debutants, including captain Neil Brand. They experienced an early breakthrough when Tshepo Moreki (1-81) became the 24th bowler to take a wicket with his first ball in Test cricket, dismissing Devon Conway leg-before.
Dane Paterson (1-59) then removed Tom Latham, reducing New Zealand to 39-2. However, Kane Williamson (112 not out) and Rachin Ravindra (118 not out) successfully batted through the rest of the day, and the hosts concluded the day at 258-2.
Williamson already held the record for the most Test centuries for New Zealand by a significant margin, with no one else reaching even 20. He now becomes the first New Zealander to hit 30 Test centuries. His 8,375 runs also stand as the highest for New Zealand, along with his 63 scores over fifty.
Among active Test cricketers, only Steve Smith (32) has more Test centuries than Williamson. Joe Root also has 30. Across history, Williamson is joint 12th on the list of most Test centuries. Virat Kohli and Don Bradman have 29 each.
Most Test centuries among active players
Steve Smith - 32
Kane Williamson - 30
Joe Root - 30
Virat Kohli - 29
Cheteshwar Pujara - 19
On New Zealand soil, Williamson has amassed 4,379 runs at an average of 68.42 – the second-best batting average for anyone on home turf with 4,000 runs, trailing only Bradman (98.22). Even if he fails to add another run on day two, his average of 67.37 will still surpass Garry Sobers’ third-place figure of 66.80. Notably, Williamson has scored more runs at home than both Bradman and Sobers.
Since the onset of the pandemic, Williamson has accumulated 1,899 runs at an impressive average of 75.96, including nine centuries from 29 innings. Root is the only player with more centuries during this period, but his 13 tons have come in 81 innings. Among those with at least 300 runs, no one boasts a better average than Williamson.
Unsurprisingly, his home statistics (1,230 runs at an average of 123, with seven centuries in 12 innings) are remarkable during this period. Root matches his century count, but he has batted 41 times.
The unbroken 219-run partnership between Williamson and Ravindra now stands as New Zealand’s highest for the third wicket against South Africa, surpassing the 125-run stand set by Mark Richardson and Scott Styris in 2003/04.
For any wicket, only Stephen Fleming and James Franklin (256 for the eighth wicket in 2004) and Chris Cairns (225 for the seventh wicket in 2003/04) have posted higher partnerships.
- Kane Williamson
