Cricket: Williamson milestone puts NZ in control

Tim Southee took two wickets in the morning session for New Zealand.
Tim Southee took two wickets in the morning session for New Zealand.
The Black Caps will have total control when their test against Sri Lanka at the University Oval resumes tomorrow.

The home side (171 for one) leads by 308 runs with nine second innings wickets in hand and two days to play.

Opener Tom Latham is undefeated on 72 and will be chasing a third century. Kane Williamson is at the wicket with him on 48 and his wonderful year just keeps get better.

The classy right-hander became just the second New Zealander to score a 1000 or more test runs in a calendar year when he went passed eight runs in his second innings.

He lofted a delivery from Rangana Herath down to the long on boundary to raise the milestone.

Only Brendon McCullum has managed the feat for his country with a haul of 1164 runs in 2014.

Williamson, who scored 929 in 2014, is the fifth player to reach 1000 this year. England duo Alastair Cook and Joe Root and Australian pair David Warner and Steve Smith have also broken the barrier.

But they have all played 12 or more tests whereas Williamson is playing in just his seventh this year and his average is vastly superior at 94.54.

He could take his average past a hundred if he can get re-established at the crease tomorrow.

And just to further illustrate how successful his year has been, Williamson is the leading scorer in ODIs with 1317 runs at an average of 57.26. He also has 144 international twenty20 runs for a combined total across the three formats of 2501 runs.

Sri Lanka resumed on 197 for four probably full of hope following a tenacious effort during the previous day.

But the Black Caps strengthened their grip on the match almost immediately with Dinesh Chandimal nicking the second ball of the day.

The talented right-hander was unable to add to his overnight score of 83 and his departure dealt the visitor's prospects an awful blow.

Tim Southee was bowling into a howling North Easterly and got the ball to swerve away. Martin Guptill completed the dismissal with a superb catch. He dived to his left and nabbed it in front of Ross Taylor at first slip.

Southee's second was a little lucky. He offered up a wide delivery outside off and Kithuruwan Vithanage sniffed a third consecutive boundary.

He wafted at it and nicked out. Black Caps keeper BJ Watling collected his fifth catch.

The early setback set the tone with Sri Lanka only able to add 97 runs to reach 294.

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