New Zealand captain Kane Williamson may be the world No. 1 Test batsman in ICC rankings but England is confident of getting him out in the two-Test series that begins at Lord’s on Wednesday. The English bowlers are plotting to rattle him with deliveries swinging away before bringing one back to trap the right-hander leg before wicket.
“It looks like swinging it away from him, pulling him across the crease, and then using the nip-backer to get him lbw is a solid option,” pace bowler Ollie Robinson told the media on Monday.
“That will be plan A and if he gets a few more we have got a few plan Bs and Cs in the background,” added Robinson.
England fancy getting Williamson out early for a reason. The New Zealand batsman has a poor record in England, averaging 30.87. Compared to that, his career average is 54.31. New Zealand No. 3 batsmen has scored 247 runs across four Test matches in England.
However, Williamson’s only hundred (132 in 2015) in England came at Lord’s, the venue for the first Test. His next best score in England — a 60 — is also at Lord’s.
England will miss Jofra Archer, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes as well as Sam Curran, who are being rested on arrival from the Indian Premier League. That could pave way for the six-foot-four-inch tall Robinson to feature in the first Test.
“The fact that I know them both fairly well from playing with them at Sussex [Taylor] and Yorkshire [Williamson], that probably makes it a little bit easier,” Robinson said.
“It may be harder on the first day, I may have a few nerves, but [aggression] is my way of combatting that, taking my thoughts elsewhere and getting into the game,” he said.
