Kane Williamson: The quiet captain standing in England’s way

England's Jonny Bairstow jumps in the air after he takes the catch of Australia's David Warner on July 11. South Africa's Aiden Markram takes a catch to dismiss Australia's Nathan Lyon on July 6. Kuldeep Yadav of India drops the catch of Sri Lanka's Kusal Perera during their match on July 6. Chris Gayle of West Indies takes a catch to dismiss Rahmat Shah of Afghanistan in Leeds on July 4. New Zealand's captain Kane Williamson takes evasive action against a rising ball from England's Jofra Archer on July 3. Sri Lanka's Angelo Mathews (R) celebrates with teammate Lahiru Thirimanne after the dismissal of West Indies' Nicholas Pooran (L) during the group stage match in Chester-le-Street on July 1. Jonny Bairstow of England hits a shot on his way to a century as MS Dhoni of India looks on during their game in Birmingham on June 30. Glenn Maxwell of Australia watches as Jimmy Neesham of New Zealand takes a brilliant catch during their match in London on June 29. Shaheen Afridi of Pakistan celebrates the wicket of Gulbadin Naib of Afghanistan during their match in Leeds on June 29. Players and match officials lie on the ground as a swarm of bees interrupt play between Sri Lanka and South Africa in Chester-le-Street on June 28. Indian skipper Virat Kohli plays a shot during a game against West Indies in Manchester on June 27. Babar Azam of Pakistan offers a quick prayer after scoring a ton against New Zealand in Birmingham on June 26. Pakistan's Mohammad Amir fails to stop a boundary during a match against South Africa in London on June 23. India's Hardik Pandya celebrates with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli after dismissing Pakistan's Shoaib Malik on June 16. South African skipper Faf du Plessis attempts to take the catch of Afghanistan's Hamid Hasan as Kagiso Rabada looks on during a game on June 15. Jonny Bairstow of England falls after getting hit on the helmet by a delivery from Andrew Russell of West Indies on June 14. Afghanistan's Ikram Alikhil (L) fails to run out New Zealand's Kane Williamson in Taunton, England, on June 8. Jason Roy of England (L) collides with umpire Joel Wilson as he prepares to celebrate his century against Bangladesh in Cardiff, Wales, on June 8. Bangladesh's Mehidy Hasan Miraz takes the catch to dismiss England's Jonny Bairstow on June 8. Usman Khawaja of Australia is struck on the head from a delivery by Oshane Thomas in Nottingham, England, on June 6. West Indies players celebrate after taking the wicket of Glenn Maxwell of Australia in Nottingham on June 6. Quinton de Kock of South Africa dives to takes the catch of Soumya Sarkar of Bangladesh during their game in London on June 2. Afghan captain Gulbadin Naib flexes his muscles after dismissing Australia's Aaron Finch during the match in Bristol, England, on June 1. Andre Russell of West Indies lies on the ground after picking up an injury during a game against Pakistan in Nottingham on May 31. England's Jofra Archer (R) celebrates taking the wicket of South Africa's Aiden Markram during the tournament's opening game in London on May 30. South Africa's Hashim Amla gets hit in the helmet by a ball from Jofra Archer of England in London on May 30. English fans cheer for Moeen Ali as takes the catch of Faf du Plessis of South Africa in London on May 30. He set up a cliffhanger against West Indies by making an ODI career-best of 148,which,thanks to Guptill’s travails, had begun with Williamson facing the second ball of the day. And then, when thechipsweredown, he calmly took two catches off skiers – the kind of chance that stays in the air long enough to encourage the fielder to have an existential crisis. Steve Smith allowed the business with the sandpaper to happen on his watch and lost the Australia captaincy as a result. On Thursday, skilfully though he batted, it was striking that Smith kept showing his annoyance with his teammates, playing the prima donna rather than the leader. Graham Gooch, taking on New Zealand in Richard Hadlee’s day,famously said it was like facing the World XI at one end and Ilford 2nds at the other. He has forged a team in his own image, despite having a hard act to follow in Brendon McCullum, the man who dared to introduce New Zealand to excitement.

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