Kane praises ‘world class’ seamers

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New Zealand captain Kane Williamson was full of praise for his fast bowlers after their eight wicket win against Pakistan, thanking them for their hard work.

Debutant paceman Colin de Grandhomme took six wickets in the first innings, but it was the second dig that impressed the skipper, as Pakistan were bowled out for 171.

Three pacemen took three wickets each, with De Grandhomme the other one, and Williamson was impressed with how they stuck to their game plan.

Williamson said: “Without a doubt our bowling effort in the second innings was the decisive period.

“We were hoping for some movement off the surface and Pakistan showed a lot of resistance – especially early – and were very patient.

“But the way that four seamers got into spells and held their areas for long periods at a time, it was world class.

“They passed it over for the next bloke to take up the baton, and it was a huge effort being patient and getting the rewards later on in the day yesterday.

“We didn’t get the ball to do a huge amount in the second innings, but we held our lines and our lengths really consistently for a long period of time.

“It was really important to make that adjustment quickly and not get too greedy and overpitch, because in the first innings you did need to bowl fuller to get those rewards.”

As for Zimbabwe-born De Grandhomme’s selection, Williamson added: “Colin was picked because his style of bowling complements the other bowlers.

“Tim Southee and Trent Boult are terrific swing bowlers, but when it isn’t swinging as much and you want to exploit a bit of nip out the surface, someone like Colin might be a good option, we felt.

“It turned out he certainly was. You do have to put the ball in the right area and he showed his composure as well, to execute his plans for a long period of time with the ball.”

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