Williamson, Stokes and the many ways to matter

In the 2023 Christchurch Test against Sri Lanka, New Zealand needed 285 on the final day. Kane Williamson kept the host in the hunt, and it eventually came down to eight runs off the final over.

Williamson, already past his 27th Test century, brought the equation down to one off the last ball. He missed the hook but set off immediately, diving at the non-striker’s end and just making his ground as the ball hit the stumps.

Emotions erupted all around him as his batting partner, Neil Wagner, sprinted in to embrace him, while the Sri Lankans had their hands on their knees in disbelief. Despite all the chaos, Williamson gave little away. He lay face down on the pitch for a moment before standing up to shake hands with the opposition, looking almost as surprised as they were.

It was vintage Williamson: an unflustered smile and no attempt to make the moment about himself. That modesty and simplicity defined him throughout his career. It was also a trait that came to define New Zealand cricket itself: the nice guys.

It was much the same at the 2019 World Cup Final at Lord’s, when New Zealand fell a boundary short of the title against England. Amid the overthrows and the Super Over, Williamson barely flinched and accepted the heartbreak with grace.

At the other end of that final stood Ben Stokes.

It was his unbeaten 84 that turned the game for England that day. A month later at Headingley, with England staring at defeat against Australia, Stokes produced one of Test cricket’s most memorable knocks: an unbeaten 135 to chase down 359. He then roared to the crowd, arms aloft, soaking in the theatre of it all.

Opposite ends of the spectrum

Where Williamson often blended into the background, Stokes always seemed to pull the spotlight towards him. That, perhaps, was the essence of their careers.

For the better part of the last decade, the duo stood at opposite ends of sport’s emotional spectrum, yet somehow arrived at the same destination: indispensable to their teams and defining figures of the modern era.

Williamson made his debut in 2010 and announced himself with a century in his maiden Test against India in Ahmedabad. A year later, England handed Stokes his ODI cap. Over the next 15 years, their careers unfolded in parallel.

The Kiwi, part of Martin Crowe’s ‘Fab Four’ alongside Virat Kohli, Joe Root and Steve Smith, always felt different even among that elite company. There was no urge to get in the face of the opposition. His batting carried the same personality as the man himself: cool, calm and composed.

He met the ball under his eyes, often making it seem as though he was late on it when, in reality, he simply had more time than everyone else. One of the signs of a great batter is how effortlessly they collect runs, and with Williamson, it often felt as though he had just walked in before the scoreboard suddenly showed him in the 30s. His split grip, control and ability to find gaps even when the field was packed reflected a batter who could always find a way, no matter the ask.

For Williamson, though, runs were never possessions, only service. He once said, “The runs aren’t yours; they’re of service for the team.” That line perhaps best summed up his career. He finished with 48 international hundreds and 19,346 runs: a body of work built for the team.

Stokes, meanwhile, was more about moments, earning what the current internet generation would call “aura points.”

The high backlift, exaggerated trigger movements and clearing of the front leg gave the sense that every ball could produce something outrageous or reckless, sometimes even both. He batted as if he wanted to bend the game to his will, and often did.

He did the same with the ball in his hand. Stokes, England’s golden arm, had a habit of making things happen, whether through long spells or improbable breakthroughs.

One of the moments that captured him best came right after the Trent Bridge crowd learned of his retirement. Into his 11th over of the spell, he charged in once the applause had settled and had New Zealand’s Zak Foulkes caught in the slips. The roar around Nottingham swelled again as he leapt into the air to celebrate a dismissal he would cherish for a long time.

Stokes finished with 7,273 Test runs and 252 wickets in Tests, becoming only the second player after South Africa’s Jacques Kallis to complete the double of 7,000-plus runs and 250-plus wickets.

His ODI career, however, remains a big what-if. For all the off-field interruptions, Stokes still gave England some of its greatest white-ball moments, including one at Lord’s in 2019. There was another when he returned to the format in 2023 after initially retiring, slamming England’s highest individual score: 182 against New Zealand.

Teams mirroring their captains

The duo’s playing styles mirrored their personalities. When captaincy arrived, their teams soon became extensions of them.

Williamson took over from Brendon McCullum in 2016 and turned New Zealand into one of the most complete sides in world cricket, competing everywhere and in every format. Under him, New Zealand reached the 2019 ODI World Cup final, won the inaugural ICC World Test Championship Final 2021, and made the 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Final later that year.

There was consistency, much like Williamson himself.

Stokes’ England was different. In 2022, alongside McCullum, he gave Test cricket a new language that revolved around being aggressive, fearless and exciting. It did not always bring England every result it wanted, but it changed how the format was spoken about. ‘Bazball’ became an identity, and Stokes lived it.

In his retirement speech during the third Test, he asked his teammates for one final effort. “We’ve got a lot of hard work to do, and the only thing I want is to be able to walk off that field, regardless of the result, knowing that I’ve had this group give everything for the last two days. That’s the only thing I want, for everyone to give it not only to me, selfishly, but also to this team.”

In his final outing, Stokes opened the innings, charged down the track first ball and attempted a reverse ramp the very next delivery. Simply because he could. It was chaotic and entirely on brand. He made 30 off 20 before walking back into the sunset to a standing ovation.

Not long before that, Williamson, too, had announced his departure after New Zealand’s defeat in the first Test at Lord’s, but quietly. Neither a grand speech nor an elaborate farewell, just a statement. “I stand here to announce my retirement from international cricket.” Fittingly, Williamson.

For years, cricket had both extremes at once. In Williamson, it had its old-school charm, proof that greatness did not need spectacle. In Stokes, it had its great showman.

And as they leave together, the sport loses two men who, in completely different ways, elevated the game far beyond where they found it, all while staying completely true to who they were.

Published on Jul 03, 2026