Cricket: Batting maestro at top of his game

Kane Williamson's extended run of fine form has marked him as one of the world's finest test batsmen.

The runs and records just keep on coming for Tauranga's batting maestro Kane Williamson.

The 24-year-old faced 438 deliveries on his way to 242 not out against Sri Lanka at Wellington's Basin Reserve yesterday, managing alongside BJ Watling to turn what had been a precarious position for the Black Caps into one of strength.

The Northern Districts duo came together with their side leading by just 24 runs on Monday with five second innings wickets and almost half the test match remaining.

They left together - despite Watling sprinting for the sheds to ready himself for keeping wicket - with an unbeaten partnership of 365 and the new world record for the sixth wicket in test cricket.

Watling seemed especially excited at setting the new mark, likely because it usurped the 352 he put on with McCullum against India at the same ground last summer.

Yet it was Williamson who was the star, accumulating runs in his typically measured fashion over more than 10 hours to break through the 3000-run barrier in tests.

It was a position the former Tauranga Boys' College player had grown accustomed to - few could forget the young man weathering the South African storm of Vernon Philander, Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn to help rescue a draw in Wellington in March 2012.

Given his mix of temperament and technique, and the manner in which his career runs conitnues to grow , he may soon be forced to come to terms with another position - at the top of the world test batting rankings.

His record since mid-2013 is nothing short of astonishing.

In his last 22 test innings he has passed 100 six times - twice against the West Indies and once each against the subcontinent powers of Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

Add to that seven scores between 50-100 and a further four scores in the 40s, and it emerges Williamson has made less than 40 only seven times in that span.

That all adds up to an average in excess of 75 and has boosted Williamson's overall test average from the mid-30s to more than 45.

Where it will end up is anyone's guess, but regardless cricket fans are likely in for a treat.

New Zealand has had players who have been world class on their day, but such players and such days have been few and far between.

Williamson is that good most days.

The difference is huge.