Williamson is now in same league as Crowe, Hadlee: Former NZ pacer Dion Nash

Former New Zealand pacer Dion Nash has placed Kane Williamson in the same league as Richard Hadlee and Martin Crowe, considered the best cricketers to be part of the Black Caps. Nash, is particularly impressed the way in which Williamson has performed since giving up the captaincy.
In the recently concluded Test series against Sri Lanka, Williamson scored a century in the fourth innings to steer New Zealand to a stunning win off the last ball of the match. And in the second Test, he made a double century as Williamson looked at his fluent best in the series.
“Williamson has taken it to the next level. You look at the Richard Hadlees and Martin Crowes… Kane is now in that echelon of cricketers. He’s given up the captaincy – given it up or had it taken away, either way it doesn’t matter – but he’s doubled down on his performance, which speaks volumes of the man,” he said.
“To not show any negative issues with having his captaincy taken away and go out and become even more of an impactful player says a lot. I’m sure (Black Caps captain) Tim Southee is grateful to have him in the side,” Nash said.
After the defeat against England earlier this year, there were talks that New Zealand was fielding an aging side, but have since bounced back to win three on the trot, including a thrilling one-run win over England with Williamson, Neil Wagner and Southee playing crucial roles.
“I felt we were possibly looking like an old team and an old tree in the forest had started its slow fall or decline. And now … it was probably the older heads who got us through and actually redeemed the summer,” he said.

“I think what we’ve got right now is a really nice balance. We’re actually one of the more mature teams. We’re at a stage where we’re starting to blood some of those young players and end up with a really nice balance of senior players. It’s going to be a really nice mix and could be a really exciting cocktail.”