World Cup 2023: Williamson picks up from where he left off as New Zealand pile more misery on Bangladesh

New Zealand continued their dominant march in the 2023 ICC World Cup, thumping Bangladesh comfortably by eight wickets in yet another clinical display to make it three wins out of three.

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The victory ensured the Black Caps regained the top spot on the points table from South Africa, who are on a roll themselves with a couple of strong displays that have already made them early contenders for a place in the semi-finals after 10 days of competition at the showpiece event.

There were quite a few positives for the Kiwis in their third consecutive victory — Lockie Ferguson highlighted he could do just as much damage with the new ball as Trent Boult, while Daryl Mitchell was solid as ever in the middle overs and helped finish the game for his side. Devon Cownay too looked impressive with the bat, even if he was a tad unlucky in missing out on a second fifty-plus score in three outings. Bangladesh too had an excellent recovery stand from two of their senior-most players in the middle overs that gave them hope of posting a competitive total on the board at one point.

The biggest talking point from the match, however, would simply have to be the successful return of Kane Stuart Williamson to international cricket for the first time since March.

The New Zealand skipper had spent months recovering from a knee injury that he had picked up during the opening game of this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL) and somehow managed to make it to the Black Caps squad after weeks of speculation. Though he had featured in both warm-up matches against South Africa and Bangladesh, his physical problems had flared up right before the tournament opener against England. And it would force him to sit out of the next fixture, against Netherlands, as well.

Kane Williamson returns in style

Williamson, though, was cleared to play in Friday’s fixture against the Bangla Tigers and led the team for the first time at the elite event since the dramatic final at Lord’s four years ago. And he picked right up from where he left off during the home season earlier this year when he scored three centuries in as many Tests.

On Friday, Williamson came in at a time when the Tigers had posted a modest 245/9 on the board, which would later prove well below par, and created some pressure on the Black Caps with Mustafizur Rahman removing Rachin Ravindra — promoted to the top of the order — early in the chase.

The Bangladesh seamers were sensing the opportunity to push their opponents to the backfoot and try and dictate terms in the opening powerplay to give themselves a chance of defending a modest score.

Conway would lift some of the pressure that was starting to build with a couple of boundaries in Shoriful Islam’s fourth over, shortly after getting dropped by Mehidy Hasan Miraz at point on 4. Williamson, meanwhile, had been exceedingly cautious early on, collecting just two runs in his first 19 deliveries before dispatching Shoriful for two fours in a space of three deliveries.

Conway and Williamson had managed to see off a turbulent period by the time Mustafizur had been taken off the attack after a miserly opening spell and Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan decided to have spin from both ends. From thereon, barring Williamson getting dropped by Taskin Ahmed at midwicket on 28 and Shakib trapping Conway LBW when the latter was attempting a reverse paddle, it was New Zealand all the way in the chase.

This wasn’t quite the Chepauk wicket on which the likes of Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin dominated the Australian batters on Sunday, and though the Bangladesh spin department normally is their primary weapon, Williamson and Co were able to negate their threat successfully on a wicket that was much better to bat on compared to the raging turner next to it.

Williamson would use his feet to skip down the track against Shakib and smash the star all-rounder over midwicket for his first maximum of the evening. And that was to become his template for handling the Shakib-Mehidy pair for the remainder of the evening as he went about accumulating runs at a steady pace, keeping the required rate well under check with the occasional boundary, eventually bringing up his 43rd ODI half-century.

Injury worries for skipper

He eventually had to retire hurt shortly after guiding his side past the 200-mark, and a victory was somewhat already assured. The knee perhaps was starting to cause problems again, but it was a blow to the thumb from a throw that gave him the signal to head back to the dressing room.

Kane Williamson (78*) has been retired hurt as a precaution after being hit on his left thumb while running between the wickets. Phillips has joined Mitchell in the middle in Chennai. Follow play LIVE in NZ with @skysportnz. LIVE scoring | https://t.co/aNkBrDiAuv #CWC23 pic.twitter.com/344ntQo0nR

— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) October 13, 2023

Williamson, however, had Mitchell batting on 58 at the other end striking at above 100, and had left the chase in good hands at that point.

“It was nice to be out there and be a part of some of those partnerships, some tough periods with the new ball was hard work. But just wanted to build partnerships and get close to that target,” the New Zealand skipper said after the game, adding that his thumb had got a “bit fat and colourful” after the blow.

New Zealand have a bit of a gap until their next game — against Afghanistan on the 18th — and they’ll be hoping Williamson’s latest physical troubles are a temporary headache, and doesn’t translate into a long-term worry.