Kane Williamson’s bombshell announcement to retire from international cricket, just days before the second test against England at the Oval, brings to an end a career that New Zealand cricket fans are unlikely to ever see repeated, Tauranga sports writer Peter White writes.

The news caused me mixed emotions: please don’t do this Kane, with England, India and Australia tests ahead, but I understand why you have had enough.

One of my first thoughts was the first time I saw him bat.

I was sitting on the natural grass amphitheatre at Tauranga’s Pemberton Park, chatting to an old family friend Brett Williamson, while watching his 16-year-old son Kane playing for Tauranga Boys’ College against Greerton in a Baywide Premier club match.

Kane strode out to bat with a sunhat on, despite the attention of one quick bowler, and promptly began pulling and cutting the short stuff bowled at him. An hour later, he had 60 and wandered off showing no emotion.

It was a personal trait that has become so familiar in the 20 years watching him bat since that club match. Kane has never been an emotional person. First ball duck or century – he did not give much away. He never lost his composure when the cricketing gods dealt the cruellest blow at Lord’s for us to lose the 2019 World Cup or when he captained the Black Caps to win the inaugural World Test Championship in 2021.

Always calm, always considerate of the opposition, always aware of the importance of keeping his dignity. The game is bigger than any individual.

Success came so early to Kane that perhaps at 35 he really just had a gutful of the stress and expectations continuously piled on him. It was rumoured he took some persuading to keep playing test cricket over the past 18 months. Had a constant barrage of T20 tournaments worn him out emotionally as much as physically? It must be difficult to keep going on the treadmill of tournaments – no matter how lucrative – when you have a young family.

I am one of countless journalists over the years who have been left bemused by Kane’s complete lack of interest in talking about his batting successes and climb to the top of the game’s statistics. It became farcical at times as a match-winning test century was deemed “doing my bit for the team”.

Kane Williamson raises his bat after a test century against England. Photo / Photosport

The only time I managed to get him slightly off-guard was when I said his friend going back to intermediate school, Trent Boult, had told me he was a better guitar player than Kane was. Not true it seems, not true at all.

Kane’s stats are mind-boggling but also offer an insight to his love for the traditional test match side of the game. Kane has scored 45 first-class centuries but just 12 outside the test arena. His total of 9515 test runs came at an average of 54.06 – far superior to his first-class average 50.96. We can throw in 15 ODI centuries as well but test cricket was what he loved more than anything.

At Ōtūmoetai Intermediate, Kane beat Martin Crowe’s long-standing tournament record and while still at Tauranga Boys’ College aged 17, he made his first-class debut for Northern Districts and captained New Zealand at the 2008 Under-19 World Cup.

His singular outlook to batting was evident at camps before that tournament, held in Christchurch under the judicious eye of batting coach Glenn Turner. In one open-wicket practice, Kane hit three successive balls from outside off-stump to the boundary behind square leg.

When asked by Turner why he didn’t just belt them through the covers, apparently Kane replied “Well, there was a big gap on the leg side”.

There has been so much written since Kane retired from international cricket about his career. My focus is on his start to test cricket. He made a century aged 20 on debut against India in Ahmedabad in 2010, followed by his second century two seasons later in what became the toughest batting challenge of his career.

New Zealand were in all sorts of trouble batting to save the test against South Africa on a spiteful Basin Reserve wicket. World-class pace bowlers Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn tested courage and technique – and not all the New Zealand batting line-up came out of the ordeal with their reputations enhanced. But Kane fought and fought. He was hit so many times it became excruciating to watch and even had his protective box broken.

Somehow, he survived the barrage and played the ball with his trademark soft hands, later than most could ever do. He kept the scoreboard ticking over to make 102 not out and save the test. That same year, Kane scored his third century, this time in humidity-sapping conditions in Colombo against a top-class Sri Lankan attack.

Two centuries against Australia in 2015 – at the Gabba and Waca – had the likes of Richie Benaud and Tony Greig proclaiming a rare talent. Martin Crowe commented after that series that “we’re seeing the dawn of probably our greatest ever batsman”. A prophetic insight from one of the greats of the game, who played in a less pitch-friendly era with superior fast bowlers to contend with.

It was a matter of when Kane would become test captain. He took on the responsibility in 2016 from Brendon McCullum aged 25 – one of our youngest ever to captain the test team. He passed the baton to Tim Southee after 22 wins in 38 tests. Captaincy affects some players; others thrive with the added responsibility. It seemed to enhance Kane’s personal performances. He became part of the colloquially known Fab Four – with England’s Joe Root, Australia’s Steve Smith and India’s Virat Kohli – the greatest batters in today’s game.

Perhaps like Joe Root once mused, the best place to be as captain was out in the middle to get some peace.

Mention must be made to former New Zealand off-spinner and durable late order batsman John Bracewell. As Gloucester coach, the former Tauranga Boys’ captain gave Kane his first chance to immerse himself in county cricket. The cricket experience he learned during two seasons in 2011-2012 was invaluable to honing his skills and learning about life as a fulltime pro.

Last word to South Africa’s Morne Morkel, after that career-defining century at the Basin Reserve.

“Kane was exceptional. It was a fantastic innings. He’s a hard man to bowl to.”

Indeed, he was.

-Content supplied by former Weekend Sun and SunLive writer, and Tauranga Sports writer Peter White.