The Black Caps great sprang a surprise on cricket fans yesterday, announcing he would step down as test captain.
If you have been following the signs closely, it will not have come as a surprise he has made the decision to lighten his workload.
But those signs seemed to point towards a change of the guard in the T20 format.
His much-maligned strike rate in the format raises the question of whether he has the game to demand selection.
During the T20 World Cup in Australia, the mumblings got louder.
For the first time in his career, his place in the side was publicly questioned.
When he missed the third T20 against India to attend a medical appointment, some suggested it was an elegant solution (oh, yeah, that was just me).
You cannot drop the captain during a series, but you can replace him when he is unavailable.
It was a very convenient appointment.
If he had stood down as T20 captain, this column would be banging on about Otago’s wonderful win over a star-studded Canterbury side at Hagley Oval earlier this week.
It would not be news.
But it is the test captaincy he has dropped and that is a shock.
Williamson forged a remarkable record in the role.
Under his leadership, the Black Caps won 22 and drew eight of its 40 tests.
He averaged 57.43 as captain, so his batting was certainly not impacted.
The Black Caps did not play Baz-ball under his leadership, but he was good at playing to their strengths, and the format he had developed as captain took them to the top.
They won the World Test Championship final against India in England in June last year.
He will be Sir Kane, eventually.
Williamson’s replacement is a surprise as well.
Tim Southee has been given the role, not Tom Latham, who deputised for Williamson when he was unavailable.
Southee shapes as a more aggressive captain than Latham and that may have been the deciding factor.
Williamson will continue to be available for test cricket and will remain captain of the ODI side, which is a relief.
He will also remain captain of the T20 side, which is not a relief.
He is basically undroppable.
If you get Machiavellian for a hot minute, you might suddenly see Williamson’s decision in another light.
If he had stood down from T20 captaincy, how long would he remain in the team?
