Kane Williamson is a year younger than Steve Smith. Both are generational players. Both have captained their nations and have careers to be justifiably proud of.
Smith is 34 ½ and Williamson is 33 ½. Cricketing mortality is always a concern for the player approaching mid 30s. Once the ‘eye’ becomes less sharp, once the capacity to overcome technical vulnerabilities lessens, the ‘immortals’ can come back to the field.
Right now there are some very great differences in the output of Smith and Williamson, which has led to the move of Smith to opener. Smith has long since passed his career ‘sweet spot’ – while Williamson might just be in one of his own.
Kane Williamson has hit another rich vein or form for the Black Caps. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)
We’ve seen many greats peak and decline – one such example is former Australian captain Ricky Ponting.
Ponting’s capacity to convert 50s into 100s fell away. Through his peaking years from 1999 to 2008 he scored 35 centuries and 36 half centuries. He was 2-7 leading in to that phase of his career and he came out with a 4-19 ratio. His batting average peaked in 2006 at over 59 runs per innings, falling away to his final figure of 51.85.
After the calendar year 2006 Ponting had the Bradmanesque average for the year of 88.86. That season was the culmination of his career ‘sweet spot’. Across 2002-2006 and 57 tests he rattled off 6141 runs at 72.24. Ponting never again managed more an average above 50 for a calendar year.
Contrast this with Greg Chappell, who finished with a final season in 1983/84 averaging 72.8, and a career average of 53.86 (boosted from 53.11 going into that final season). Chappell was 35 at the time and could have continued on had he chosen. He departed with reputation very much intact if not enhanced.
Steve Waugh somewhat similarly managed a last hurrah. After his career average had dipped below 50 he was able to rebound through 2003 and a final match double of 40 and 80 stretched the average back over 51 (from 50.97 to 51.06). After a very dry 2002 (just 456 runs at 30.4), that last 12 months of his career very much protected the ‘legacy’.
Steven Smith celebrates another century. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
There’s irony in both Ponting and Waugh completing 168 test matches each and finishing with averages of 51.85 and 51.06, but Waugh’s peak career batting average never got anywhere near Ponting’s.
Steve Smith through 2017 had scaled the heights, with career average up over 63 and even after a dry 2018 he rebounded in 2019 to be back over 62. The Golden Era of 2014-2019 (with a 2018 hiccup) saw Smith produce 6194 runs at 72.02 across 56 tests, a very, very similar career sweet spot metric to that of Ricky Ponting.
Smith has subsequently ‘struggled’, failing to average 60 for any calendar year. Granted, 2022 returned 876 runs at 58.4, however that was very much boosted by an unbeaten 200 dining out on a weakened West Indies side in Perth.
Smith has resorted to opening the innings now and we all sat in judgement on him across the 2 match series against this most recent incarnation of the West Indies – a very different proposition with the wonderful talent of Shamar Joseph unleashed. A stuttering start but an unbeaten 91 to carry the bat may indeed be the making of SPD Smith, opening Batsman.
Why is it so important? Since that 200 (and another 20* in the 2nd dig) in Perth in November 2022, Smith had 17 tests (before this series as opener) producing 1133 runs at ‘just’ 40.46. That’s a very solid body of evidence of an immortal being brought back to the field.
Even his 3 centuries in that time were ‘small’ 100s; 104, 121 and 110. Granted, this included a 4 match tour of India for just 145 runs at 29 and context is everything. The WTC final at the Oval against India saw Smith reel off that 121 (and 34). The subsequent Ashes series in England produced 373 runs at 37.3, far from his previous dizzying heights and illustrating just how big a fall is occurring.
The contrast across the ditch to the recent red ball form of one K. Williamson is interesting. It’s granted opposition put up by South Africa is not test match standard, nevertheless Williamson has gone back to back with 118 and 109 in the 1st test in Mount Maunganui.
Ricky Ponting at the 2011 ICC World Cup. (Photo by Nagesh Ohal/India Today Group/Getty Images)
This makes six Williamson centuries from his last 6 tests, with 132 vs England, back-to-back-to-back scores of 121*, 215 and 104 against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in Bangladesh.
The Williamson career average worm has been continuing to rise since 2016, from 49 to 50.6 by end of 2017 to 52.9 by end of 2020 to 54.05 by end of 2022 to his career high now of 55.12. Williamson is 10 tests and 1 century behind Smith. The Smith average still sits higher at 58.03, but there’s a convergence of these two trend lines.
Looking at Ponting and Smith’s career sweet spots in comparison to Williamson, his most intense phase of test matches was 2012-2016 (48 tests for 4160 runs at 52.65). However his ‘sweet spot’ for 2017-present has seen just 41 tests with 3842 runs at 64.03.
Through 2020-2022 Williamson played just 11 tests while Smith managed 19, and Smith already has another 16 since then compared to just 8 more for Williamson.
This highlights the great inequity and quandary of Test cricket. The absence of any sense of an organised schedule sees some players more able to make hay while the sun shines on their career, whilst others find Tests come along all too few and far between.
As it is, in March we see Australia and New Zealand go head to head in only 2 tests, sadly. Is it the last time ‘Smith vs Williamson’ plays out? 2026/27 feels a long way away right now.
Munro Mike
Roar Rookie
Run out 2nd ball for a duck. Shocking call - horrible scenes. Alas.............the Kiwis have a way of losing key moments. This one ripped the heart out of their reply.
Munro Mike
Roar Rookie
and...........another 133*; his test average now just a smidge under 56 and the test record for most 100s in the 4th innings. He might've use dup his entire quota of runs though??
The Knightwatchmen who say Nii
Roar Rookie
Actually Iron D, the West Indies had had Greg's measure on both tours here post WSC. In 1979-80, he scored 74 and 124 in a fizzled high scoring draw, and then only 72 in 4 innings in the two tests that had results. Both that summer and two years later he made a small handful of 50s in the one dayers against them, but didn't exactly dominate them in the process.
The Knightwatchmen who say Nii
Roar Rookie
Nope, I also think Williamson, Root, Babar Azam, and most of all Labuschagne are overrated to various degrees.
The Knightwatchmen who say Nii
Roar Rookie
Williamson scored two tons here in Australia in 2015-16. However, one was in a doomed irretrievable 3rd innings so far behind in the game there was no hope no matter what anyone did - of course, he had not produced in his team's pivotal first innings. The other was in a mammoth scoring draw on a Perth road, a game in which Warner cashed in with 253, and Ross Taylor 290 - bowlers on neither side, were never, at any stage, even remotely in the contest.
Pedro
Roar Rookie
My memory of Greg Chappell was the best Australian batsmen of his generation. He had a couple of years of World Series Cricket playing super tests against the best of the best which are I understand are still not included in his career stats. He did seem to drop off towards the end of his career.
Doctor Rotcod
Roar Rookie
That would get Williamson to 100 tests. Interesting that his home average is 68 and away is 'only' 45. Still close to a century every third test, that is stellar.
jammel
Roar Rookie
Yeah I like it, appreciate the insight. Smithie almost commands a place though, because of 2019 + the no.s generally......
kingplaymaker
Roar Guru
Yes, he has taste. Some of them also are just searching for money and will play T20 all year, but then test cricket isn't interesting in their eyes anyway.
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
I'd punt Smith, move GSC up, AB #5 & Waugh # 6 from those you nominated. The best captain in that lot is Waugh
Bobbo7
Roar Rookie
Williamson is an outstanding player. Has effectively opened for much of his career at 3 given NZ has had some very wobbly openers. Add to that short series, often no warm up games overseas before tests. He is likely to finish his Test career with more tons than the rest of the fab for with less games given relative form. He has a better ODI and T20 record than Smith and Root and top scored in the 2018 IPL. The other thing - he is a big game player. Top scored in the WTC final in very tough conditions. Very good ODI WC average and that 85 off 47 in the T20 WC final against Australia when NZ was in a hole was amazing. In a just world NZ would have had a 2019 WC under his leadership and did win the 2021 WTC. Kane Williamson - you are a gem. Really looking forward to the Australian series.
jammel
Roar Rookie
Rowdy - I never saw GChappell. How do you rate him in the panoply of Australian Test middle order bats? Who would be 3-6 in our say post-1970 Test XI? 3 Ponting 4 Smith 5 GChappell 6 AB - or SWaugh?
Munro Mike
Roar Rookie
#kingplaymaker A key with Jimmy Anderson.....last ODI was 2015 and last T20 was 2009. He chose (or was forced) to specialise. I very much doubt he'd still be going trying to play all forms.
kingplaymaker
Roar Guru
Someone like James Anderson I think shows the difference of the modern sportsman a little. Apparently they're obsessed with achieving peak fitness the older they get, which is virtually the opposite of say 20 years ago when in their 30s meant it was time to gain some weight and enjoy fattening up a little. The results in concentration, longevity are felt in the performance and in fact they may be much fitter than younger players in some cases.
Munro Mike
Roar Rookie
#kingplaymaker And that's where the player and their support network need to be aware of where the player is at. In the case of Smith - - we've seen him making tweaks to his technique and moving up to open. Khawaja..........has he also tweaked and moved up to open? The challenge for Smith is he had such an unorthodox technique that can he transition successfully as he ages and how much can just be 'tweaked' vs 'reinvented'?
Riccardo
Roar Rookie
Still wrong Bilbo, both the grammar and the content. Prepared to bet the following you claim to have will disagree with that assessment too. His numbers against England/India/Australia are not as strong as others in the "Fab Four" but they are still strong. This is particularly relevant when you consider the reduced amount of Tests NZ plays compared to those teams.
RayinSydney
Roar Rookie
Williamson is overrated??, I’d be confident in saying you are in a club of one with that thought.
kingplaymaker
Roar Guru
I think an article this well-researched, argued and written should be much higher up the Cricket homepage rather than languishing beneath three straight news reports and videos of someone being run out etc… It would have taken a lot of work and is clearly going mostly unseen so low down the page. Some of the more developed news sections by the Editors take centre stage which makes sense but then there are all of these other news reports, so many that the reader is just swamped with news. The original concept of the Roar was comment and discussion, and while it's fine to bring in more news over time, it seems now to be a bombardment of news. The problem being that the lowly fan articles are out of sight, down the page. And people do not look down a homepage. They just see the top results. Articles at the top of a page (by Editors) can receive hundreds of comments while those by the fans often only get two or three. There's little point in someone putting all this effort to write an article like this as it's virtually unread, while the 4th news report and video of a T20 run-out loom high up the page, pushing it down. The fan articles feel squeezed out of the visual schedule a little like test cricket, which is a shame as they provided a very distinctive angle and indeed why the site was called 'The Roar' (of the crowd). Essentially, fan articles are important to the site, but this out of sight can simply sink and vanish, while a video of a runout or one of the simpler news reports are not the special factor the site offers.
kingplaymaker
Roar Guru
Great article. I expect more longevity with better fitness and sports science but the worst thing is for players to leave early for fear of a bad last season. Some players might have lost several outstanding years because the first off-season in their mid-thirties they ran away. If Khajawa had based his retirement on dodgy years in his 30s he’d have missed all the outstanding results now.
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
I know he was captain. But picking and choosing his times and tours indicated that he was no captain. I reckon leadership is not a thing that you pick, leadership picks you. And for whatever reason he refused to tour is fine by me but if you are captain you commit to leadership. —— I get what you say about character. I controversially don’t have Bradman in my best Aussie XI for the same reason. When youve cross-threaded Tiger, Grumm, et al, obviously something’s not right. But on batting alone Bradman and GSC are in my first Aussie XI- based on pure cricketing prowess