New Zealand’s Kane Williamson has stepped down as the Test captain. Williamson took over the captaincy duties after the retirement of Brandon McCullum in the year 2016 and has been leading the side ever since then. Williamson will continue to lead the side in the white-ball formats.
During his captaincy stint, Williamson led the New Zealand cricket team to 22 wins off 38 Tests. Under his leadership, New Zealand has enjoyed some of the best moments, which included winning the final of the inaugural ICC Test Championship in June 2021 after defeating the Virat Kohli-led Indian cricket team.
“Captaining the BLACKCAPS in Test cricket has been an incredibly special honour,” Williamson said. “For me, Test cricket is the pinnacle of the game and I’ve enjoyed the challenges of leading the side in the format.
“Captaincy comes with an increased workload on and off the field and at this stage of my career I feel the time is right for this decision. After discussions with NZC, we felt that continuing to captain the white-ball formats was preferable with two World Cups in the next two years.”
Tim Southee Has Replaced Kane Williamson As New Zealand’s Test Skipper
Tim Southee, who has replaced Williamson, will become New Zealand’s 31st Test captain and will lead the side against Pakistan in Karachi on December 26, as his first assignment. Talking about Southee replacing him, Kane said:
“I’m excited to support Tim as captain and Tom [Latham] as vice-captain.”
He added: “Having played with both of them for most of my career, I’m confident they’ll do a great job. Playing for the BLACKCAPS and contributing in all three formats is my number one priority and I’m looking forward to the cricket we have ahead.“
Tim Southee, who has previously led the team in 22 T20Is and 1 ODI match, expressed his emotions on being named as New Zealand’s Test skipper. He said: “It’s been a surreal few days and it’s just a massive honour to be appointed as Test captain. I love Test cricket, it’s the ultimate challenge and I’m really excited by the opportunity to lead the team in this format. Kane’s been an outstanding Test captain and I’m looking forward to working with [coach] Gary [Stead] on how we can build on that.”
