New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson wins Sir Richard Hadlee award for the fourth time

New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson was in blistering form during the team’s home season and smashed a whopping 639 runs in a total of four Test matches, two each against West Indies and Pakistan. Under his leadership, the team won both the series and also became the first team to book their berth in the final of the World Test Championship.

Advertisment

New Zealand Cricket acknowledged the efforts of their skipper and presented him with the prestigious Sir Richard Hadlee Medal for the fourth time at the New Zealand Cricket Awards, 2020-21. Apart from Williamson, Devon Conway also won big as he was named as the ODI and T20I Player of the Year. The debutant was at his fluent best throughout the home season and ended up with 473 T20I runs at an average of 59.12.

Kyle Jamieson and Finn Allen are the other winners. Jamieson has been awarded 'the Winsor Cup for first-class bowling' for his exemplary bowling performance for the Black Caps that also includes an 11-wicket haul against Pakistan in the final Test in Christchurch. Allen, on the other hand, won the Super Smash Player of the Year for entertaining the viewers with some power-hitting. Coming to the women’s category, the skipper, Amy Satterthwaite was bestowed with Women's ODI Player of the Year while Amelia Kerr was honoured with the Super Smash and International T20 Player of the Year.

Skipper Kane Williamson opened up on winning the Sir Richard Hadlee Medal for the fourth time. “Going into the Test summer - there was that Championship final carrot and there was a real drive there for the guys. Although it seemed a long way off, winning four Tests before you've started one is a pretty lofty goal. To spend some time at the crease personally and make contributions towards that, certainly proud as a leader and a player in this side that we were able to achieve some of those things and we're looking forward to that final," Williamson told Richard Hadlee on a phone call.