By Andrew Gourdie
I only have one concern about Kane Williamson being named Black Caps Captain. It's this:
Is Kane Williamson ready for this?
He's ready for everything else cricket and the captaincy will throw at him. His obsession for preparation is legendary. The hours of throw-downs he faces in the nets – even on days off – have helped him deliver the performances in the middle which saw him named Wisden's Leading Cricketer of the World.
The best bowling attacks in the world pepper him with bouncers and sledging, but it doesn't bother him, and trust me; he's impossible to rattle when he's standing in front of a microphone.
He's ice cool. Forget concerns about age, Kane Williamson is 25 going on 35. If you're good enough, you're old enough and he is definitely good enough to captain the Black Caps. He's mature well beyond his years, and his performances will continue to set the example.
But how will he cope with being snapped with his girlfriend on his local beach?
When these pictures surfaced in February, I was surprised. I can't recall Brendon McCullum - arguably the most high-profile captain New Zealand Cricket's ever had – being the subject of paparazzi-style photographs.
If it was a surprise to me, I suspect it was a surprise for Williamson as well. He is never one to seek the limelight and you can bet he never thought the limelight would find him in Tauranga. But as he makes the significant step of replacing Brendon McCullum as the face of New Zealand Cricket, he can realistically expect it to happen more often.
More than a bad run of results or a pile of added commitments with sponsors and media, this potentially shapes as the one undesirable aspect of his new role which could affect Williamson's form and his desire to do the job which should now be his for the next 10 years.
Fans, officials, teammates and indeed Williamson himself will hope he handles the step with the same ease which saw him transition from the relative obscurity of domestic cricket, to the increased scrutiny and standard he's exposed to on the international stage.
If he can, and I suspect he will, Williamson has the potential and opportunity to not only fulfil the late Martin Crowe's prediction he will become New Zealand's greatest ever batsman, but also go down as one of the country's best and most successful captains.
Newshub.
