The first test in Antigua yesterday ended in a draw. The West Indies, chasing an improbable 438 for victory, finished the fifth day on 350-7.
The England series shapes as a pivotal challenge for Williamson.
He's touted as the captain-in-waiting; a measured and respected player driven by the team ethos, particularly if senior lieutenants such as Southee, Boult, Ross Taylor and BJ Watling remain in the game for most of the next decade offering steadfast support. This tour provides the perfect canvas to unfoil Williamson's brand of consummate batting.
After 39 tests, he is one of eight players to score nine or more test centuries before the age of 25. Williamson, who turns 25 on August 8, has followed in the footsteps of Sachin Tendulkar (16 in 61 tests), Don Bradman (13 in 23), Neil Harvey (11 in 29), Graeme Smith (11 in 43), Garry Sobers (11 in 37), Alastair Cook (9 in 49) and Mahela Jayawardene (9 in 42).
Dismiss Williamson cheaply at No 3 and teams sense vulnerability in the New Zealand order, regardless of whether it's true, given McCullum is likely to remain at No 5. Martin Guptill or Hamish Rutherford are expected to open with Tom Latham to ward off the extra seam movement of English pitches. Stuart Broad and James Anderson are likely to threaten more at Lord's and, four days later, Headingley than they were when McCullum lathered them on bitumen at the World Cup.
This is where Williamson's experience in English conditions comes to the fore. He has featured in four English first-class seasons - two each with Gloucestershire and Yorkshire. He's signed for a fifth, again with Yorkshire, who he helped to last year's county championship. He will play three matches. In the 2011 and 2012 seasons, Williamson scored 1197 runs at 39.9 for Gloucestershire in the second division. In 2013 and 2014, he signed with Yorkshire in the first division and made 1032 runs at 54.32. Importantly, Yorkshire's Headingley home, where he has lots of experience, is the venue for the second test.
In 2013 at Lord's, he waddled in his pads to one 9.30am interview next to the Long Room. He sported a beaming smile after completing his first net of the day.
His preparation had been meticulous, right down to controlling the reaction of his sinuses. He spent 10 days with Gloucestershire and got used to batting with a runny nose in England's spring cold. This time, he'll be fast-tracked in from India, but if anyone can make the tempo adjustment, it is him.
Last time at Lord's, Williamson made 60 from 167 balls in the first innings after entering at the end of the first over. Anderson eventually coaxed him into edging a catch down the legside. In the second, he was out for six to leave New Zealand 21 for four, 15 minutes before lunch on the final day. They were all out for 68.
The visitors' batting honours board at Lord's features the names of 12 New Zealand test century-makers (including 'MD Crowe' twice) and all the names of those with nine test centuries before the age of 25, except 'SR Tendulkar'.
The odds suggest the name 'KS Williamson' will eventually be gilded beneath them.
