Cricket: Nervous 90s? Not likely

Kane Williamson bats his way to 90 in the series-deciding one-dayer against Zimbabwe on Friday night. Photo / AP

Concerns Kane Williamson is not converting his recent spate of 90s into one-day international centuries rather misses the point.

The fact the New Zealand No3 is still batting so regularly at that stage of a 50-over innings shows he's doing his job. Unlike a test match, when batsmen are expected to go on beyond 100, when Williamson reaches the 90s it is an appropriate time for those with higher strike rates to commandeer the closing overs.

The 25-year-old has been out six times in the 90s from 76 ODI innings — four in his last six innings. Only Sachin Tendulkar, Grant Flower, Nathan Astle, Aravinda de Silva, Jacques Kallis and Mohammad Azharuddin have been out more often in that bracket across considerably longer careers. Yet a pattern emerges.

On each occasion, New Zealand have batted first and Williamson has never exited before the 35th over or stayed beyond the 43rd. He embodies the team culture of selflessness where strike rate always trumps average. New Zealand have won on four of those six occasions.

Friday night's 90 against Zimbabwe, which took a Craig Ervine self alley-oop catch on the long-off boundary to dismiss him, was Williamson's sixth consecutive ODI score of 50 or more. Five others have completed the feat — fellow New Zealand No3 Andrew Jones, Australian Mark Waugh, West Indian Gordon Greenidge and Pakistanis Yousuf Youhana and Javed Miandad. Miandad leads the way with nine in succession during 1987.

Williamson's record tracks back to the second ODI against England at the Oval in June, after which he's scored 538 runs at an average of 89.67 and strike rate of 98. He might as well be headed to the crease in a suit holding a briefcase, such is his businesslike nature.

"My focus is to go out, play the situation and contribute to a team performance," he said after captaining New Zealand to a 2-1 overall victory over Zimbabwe yesterday and winning man-of-the-series. "If that means playing some shots when I get close to a hundred, so be it. I won't lose sleep over it."

Anyone who's had even the vaguest of dealings with Williamson will vouch for the sincerity of those comments. The statistics, while pleasant to pore over in almanacks, are of little meaning to him without victories. He is making a difference, too.

In 79 completed ODIs since his 2010 debut, New Zealand have won 40 (51 per cent). Across their history, the national side have won 303 in 653 (46 per cent). Williamson's average of 48.79 ranks eighth among ODI cricketers from test-playing nations to play 20 or more innings.

Further evidence Williamson's 90s are more a by-product of team strategy than a case of anxious yips comes with a comparison to his test game. In 75 innings, he has been dismissed in the 90s just once — 91 against England at Eden Park in March 2013 — and only twice more between 70 and 100.

At this stage, the Williamson 'nervous 90s' hypothesis still appears more fallacy than fact.