Embracing the beauty of Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor’s unadulterated genius
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It is Wellington and it is King Kane's den. But then again, it is Wellington and it is Ross’ home. In a venue that has made batting an extremely difficult proposition due to its unconventional framework, the duo have stood out as anomalies, owning the audience with many avatars over the years.
You don’t need to be a New Zealand fan to understand the beauty of the partnership between two Kiwi cult heroes. Also, you didn’t need to be at the Basin Reserve to have a deeper understanding of the phenomena why any die-hard New Zealand fans love them to death. It is something they have come to understand on a very organic level that is very difficult to understand in a PR moderated world.
On the penultimate ball of the 27th over when Ross Taylor made his way to the cauldron, with applause all around, it felt something significant. It is after all his home where he learnt the tricks of the trade and eventually went on to become a legend of the sport. And when he is playing his 100th Test match, expect the Kiwis to indulge in moments of hero-worship and Williamson to welcome his senior partner with a cheeky grin that he is so famous for. It is the time for the business to take over.
The moment Taylor pushed Ravichandran Ashwin with hard hands and got a thickish edge that trickled past backward point for two, the entire stadium erupted in unison. But the man watching him from the other end and complimenting him for the run just had the eureka moment. The camera zoomed on him and his eyes were set on a certain Hanuma Vihari, standing at one of the most difficult positions for a fielder, and now he understood what he could do - bring his most famous dab past backward point to the picture. And then he did. Plenty of them to bring up his half-century and slowly moved in the direction of scoring a big one. Classic Kane was in style and we were in for another day of dominance.
In the world going gaga over Virat Kohli’s picture-perfect cover drive, Steve Smith’s theatrics and Joe Root’s sagacious batting, Kane Williamson is the last man standing with righteousness through convention. “Head still, eyes on the ball” was his vision for the entirety of his career but never more so visible when he is operating in a zone. It is this zone that allows him to break through, everything seems simple for him - dish out a short one and he would leave it like a pro, land it touch fuller and it would have the inevitability written all over it, and if you are Jasprit Bumrah, you must have realised dishing out yorkers is not the most potent option available all the time. Wellington saw that for a better part of the day.
© GettyFor the better part of that innings, it was Ross who had the best seat in the house, having his own moment in history and giving life to the goals Late Martin Crowe, his childhood hero and mentor for life, had put down for him. There have been few venues which would give a sense of belonging to certain sportsmen - Chepauk for Sachin, MCG for Smith, and Newlands for Philander. Basin Reserve is Taylor’s home of many incredible innings where he can sleepwalk to half-centuries and even do a moonwalk there while running between the wickets. Dismissals are a part and parcel of cricket but it is the magic that you did before facing the inevitable sentence of time that determines a batsman’s legacy. His 71-ball stay for 44 runs was not the greatest innings he ever played - heck, it is not even in the top-50 - but for the audacity and the sense of occasion, it would definitely rank higher up there for the Masterton boy.
Especially the moment Ishant landed a short delivery to catch him off guard, with the chatty Indian slip cordon going at the top of their voice. An act of mental disintegration, perhaps, but the minimalistic Ross didn’t give a solitary damn. He played the next delivery down back to fine leg, cutting the bluff. Virat Kohli, whose expressions on the field, would put some of the greatest of actors to shame, looked at the shot in awe and then applauded for a little longer than usual. For the fans setting their stall on the beautiful Basin Reserve grass bank, it was as real as it could get and the ultimate validation of why they love the man so much.
The partnership today might have existed for only 93 runs and 153 balls but looking at it in isolation, it was the act of dominance by two of the great stories of New Zealand cricket, bossing over a period of drama that didn't only last till that Ben Stokes overthrow or the goddamn boundary count rule. They have endeared themselves to an audience that loves their sport and sportsmen on a deeper level, albeit only for the summer. But with each run between the wickets, Kane and Ross have reminded everyone that by the time the winter arrives, the great act of Wellington will not be a thing of forgotten memory.
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