Is it time for Kane Williamson to hand over the New Zealand cricket captaincy so he can concentrate on restoring his batting to its previous glory?

That's the question raised by former Kiwi all-rounder Andre Adams, after the legendary Williamson battled with the bat in the first two ODI defeats to Australia in Cairns.

The 32-year-old Williamson - who is lauded as our greatest batter - has had a couple of below-par years while struggling with injuries, particularly a nagging elbow issue.

He produced scratchy scores of 45 and 17 in Cairns, as Australia romped to victories to put the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy beyond reach.

Adams, a coach with New South Wales, said Williamson could drop one of the formats in an effort to re-energise his career.

But as New Zealand's top batsman that was probably not the best option.

"He hasn't scored the runs you would expect - he's been through a difficult time for the last 12 to 18 months," Adams told Newstalk ZB's Jason Pine from Australia.

"Everything's changed over the last couple of years, with family and kids. It changes your perspective a little bit.

"It's good to see him back…(but) perspective changes as you get older. When you are young you can do all three formats no problem, travel the world.

"Maybe it is better to have a new captain and let Kane bat - I don't think Kane has an ego in that aspect, he will just do what is best for the team.

"The way Ross Taylor lost the captaincy wasn't great, but it worked out well for him as a batsman in the end."

Adams said that fathers sometimes realised they could "never get that time back" with their kids.

"You just don't know what's happening behind the scenes - we're all human beings, there are changes in life and perspective," he said.

"It depends where you are in your life cycle as a cricketer - Kane still has a long way to go if he wants."

When asked about adjustments to the top order, Adams said any thoughts of dropping Tom Latham from the ODI side could become complicated if Williamson stood aside from the captaincy.

Adams said: "Latham might be the next captain if Kane is tossing some stuff up - if Kane drops the captaincy he will probably drop all the formats in my opinion, although that's not a fact."

Meanwhile, Adams wants Finn Allen brought in as an attacking opener with an eye to the future.

He also believes bowling ace Trent Boult's decision to quit his central contract can present long-term benefits for the Black Caps.

"You can contract someone else full time and develop them - it isn't always a negative when someone doesn't take up a contract," he said.

Adams blamed New Zealand's mindset rather than skillset for their increasingly poor record in Australia.