“He’s ticking off some amazing statistics along the way and he’s doing it in quite a strong leadership position within our group as well”

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum believes that Kane Williamson “could go down as New Zealand’s greatest ever batter”.

McCullum’s comments come after Williamson scored a career-best 242 not out and became the fastest New Zealand batsman to score 3,000 Test runs during the second Test against Sri Lanka in Wellington.

“It’s hard to put this on his shoulders while the guy is so young, but I firmly believe Kane could go down as New Zealand’s greatest ever batter,” McCullum said. “He’s a phenomenal talent and such a level-headed guy, who just thinks first and foremost about the team and how he can contribute. He’s ticking off some amazing statistics along the way and he’s doing it in quite a strong leadership position within our group as well.

“That speaks volumes for the guy at the age of 24, that he’s held in that regard within the group. His batting in all three forms of the game is world class. He was batting in my backyard the other day against my boy. I said to my boy, ‘In 10 years’ time you’re going to appreciate how good this experience was.’ Kane’s a phenomenal fellow and a gun player and we’ll see a lot of him in the next few years.

“Kane’s passionate, but he’s level with his emotions. At times, he can be a little bit mistaken for not being passionate or caring – he just gets in his zone. But you don’t fight that hard unless you care about something.

“He does have blood in his veins. He’ll be in that dressing room now, enjoying being around his teammates and have a big smile on his face. He’ll be trying to shove off all the accolades to everyone else, but he’s got to sit with these ones.”