Kiwi star batter Kane Williamson is set to make what is expected to be his final appearance at Lord’s when New Zealand face England in the opening Test on Thursday.
The 35-year-old will earn his 110th Test cap in the match. Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Kane Williamson paused briefly when asked about the significance of the occasion before responding with humor.
“Yeah it probably is, eh? And you’re delaying my lunch, which isn’t very good of you…” Williamson said.
If the match lasts five days, Williamson could have six more lunches at Lord’s before the Test ends.
Williamson first played a Test at Lord’s in 2013. His connection with the venue began a year earlier, when he represented Gloucestershire against Middlesex in a Clydesdale Bank Pro40 match as an overseas signing.
He has played four previous Tests at Lord’s. His only other first-class appearance at the venue came for Yorkshire in 2014, when Middlesex chased down 472.
Last summer, Williamson signed an agreement with the Marylebone Cricket Club that allowed him to play for both Middlesex and London Spirit in The Hundred.
The move followed his decision the previous year to opt out of his New Zealand central contract. He missed two Tests against Zimbabwe as a result.
Williamson remains without a national contract late in his career. New Zealand’s future touring schedule is also uncertain, with no Future Tours Programme confirmed beyond 2027.
Williamson said Lord’s remains a special venue because players only get limited chances to appear there during their careers. He also pointed to the ground’s traditions, history and atmosphere as factors that make it different from other cricket venues.
He said walking through the Long Room, meeting members and experiencing the famous Lord’s lunches are among the memories that make the ground stand out. He added that several New Zealand players are set for their first experience at the venue and are excited by the opportunity.
Six members of New Zealand’s current squad played in the team’s last Lord’s Test in 2022. That match was Ben Stokes’ first as England’s full-time Test captain.
Tim Southee, who led New Zealand’s attack with Trent Boult in that match, is now working with England as a bowling consultant.
Williamson has averaged 32 in eight Test innings at Lord’s, compared with a career average of 54.58. However, he is on the Lord’s honors board in the away dressing room, an achievement that eluded Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara.
His best performance at the ground came in 2015, when he scored 132 in a Test New Zealand lost by 124 runs. The match reached the final day and included a spectacular Moeen Ali catch off Trent Boult at deep third.
That Test was later credited with helping revive interest in English Test cricket. England went on to regain the Ashes later that summer. Current England head coach Brendon McCullum captained New Zealand in that match.
Williamson said the 2015 Test remains one of his memorable appearances at Lord’s, despite New Zealand’s defeat. He said the match stood out because New Zealand scored heavily and still took 20 wickets, but changing overhead conditions made batting much harder as the contest developed.
“The honors board is something that people talk a lot about,” Kane Williamson said. “It was an amazing game of cricket too, to be fair.”
He added that the pitch started well for batting before conditions changed under the lights with the Dukes ball, making the Test especially memorable.
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