New Zealand became the World No. 1 Test side for the first time in their Test history and captain Kane Williamson took pride in the ‘special’ team culture existent in the Blackcaps unit over the years.
Kane Williamson led New Zealand to a 2-0 clean sweep of the Test series against Babar Azam less Pakistan. On Wednesday, New Zealand became the No. 1 Test team for the first time in their history overtaking heavyweights India and Australia.
New Zealand Becomes No. 1 Test Side After Defeating Pakistan 2-0
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson credited former skipper Brendon McCullum for starting off a “special” team culture that has helped them in route to reaching the top of ICC Test Rankings. Kane Williamson said New Zealand will continue to build on the culture and are focusing on improving and trying to adapt to changes.
On Wednesday, New Zealand became the No. 1 Test side for the first time in their history as they leapfrogged India and Australia to reach the top of the standings. The Blackcaps, with 118 points, are 2 points ahead of Australia and 4 points ahead of India, who are at third place.
New Zealand achieved the historic feat after beating Pakistan by an innings and 176 runs in the 2nd and final Test of a 2-match series in Christchurch. Kane Williamson’s men completed a clean sweep as the skipper led the show with the bat, hitting a double hundred following which young fast bowler Kyle Jamieson picked up 11 wickets in the match- 5 in first and 6 in second innings.
Pakistan scored 297 and 186 in the 2nd innings while New Zealand managed 659/6 declared as three of their batsmen scored tons. Kane Williamson, Henry Nicholls and Daryl Mitchell hit centuries. The team had won the first Test by 101 runs.
Kane Williamson: Under Brendon McCullum, New Zealand Had Drastic Changes And The Team Culture Continues To Grow
Kane Williamson, the World No. 1 Test batsman, said New Zealand’s team culture began to change under Brendon McCullum’s captaincy and they are looking to do is build on it. Kane Williamson said it’s heartening to see youngsters coming in with a positive attitude while praising Kyle Jamieson and Daryl Mitchell’s performances in the series against Pakistan.
“Achieving this standing means there has been a lot of hard work. It’s a very special moment. It was hard to talk about when the Test summer was on. But it’s nice to sit back now and take a moment and enjoy it,” Kane Williamson said on Wednesday.
“It (team culture) continues to grow. In my observation of teams, over a period of time, you have changes in personnel. Under Brendon, his team had some drastic changes, in terms of the culture, which started things off to a large extent. From our perspective, we have been looking to build on it and grow and adjust when needed. That’s a continuation and something we will try to focus on and try to improve.”
“When you see some younger guys come in, the likes of Daryl Mitchell and Kyle Jamieson, there were some outstanding statistical contributions in this game. But it’s more about their attitude that they brought in, that’s really special,” Williamson said.
New Zealand are in with a chance to play the World Test Championship final as well but they are currently at the third spot of the table behind Australia and India. New Zealand have been unstoppable at home, clean sweeping India, West Indies and Pakistan over the last 12 months.