Kane ‘thankful’ despite tough learning curve

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Cricket365
October 12, 2016

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson was understandably disappointed with his side’s drubbing at the hand of India in the Test series, but aimed to find the positives.

It was his first tour to India as skipper, and while they lost three-nil, and he had a poor series with the bat, Williamson felt he learned valuable lessons for the future.

He was dismissed by Ravi Ashwin all four times he batted, and Ashwin took 27 wickets in the series. The Kiwis had little idea how to bat against him, or any other India bowler for that matter.

Williamson said after the third Test defeat: “We’re always learning playing internationals. I guess it’s a new thing, personally as well.

“Come over here with so much rough, which is nice to bowl into. I suppose I was a victim of it a few times.

“I guess, when you are put in that situation where you are dismissed in a similar situation, you are able to learn and try to improve from that.

“The conditions guys are exposed to, and the quality of bowling, in a backhanded way, we can be thankful for those experiences that help move your game forward.”

The skipper also felt that losing every toss did not help his side, but that they should still have been able to exert some pressure no matter the order of play.

He added: “Whether you win the toss, lose the toss, India were far superior in this series. It depends on the surfaces.

“Every surface has been different in this series, they were different in the South Africa series. Whether it is a good one, it is important to spend time at the crease, creating pressure.

“Batting first would be nice. It would help, certainly, in being more competitive. This India side is a very good team, and they certainly know these conditions better than anyone.”

The sides now gear up for an ODI series, which starts on 16 October.