Six months ago, it was reasonable to wonder when Kane Williamson would rediscover his best with the bat.
Six days ago, it was fair to question whether Henry Nicholls would retain his place in the team.
Today at the Basin Reserve, Williamson and Nicholls became the first Black Caps teammates to score double-centuries in the same innings, batting with a level of control matched by their side’s position in the second test against Sri Lanka.
After New Zealand declared late in day two on 580-4, their fourth-best total when asked to bat first, Matt Henry and Doug Bracewell — assisted by a special catch from Devon Conway — reduced the tourists to 26-2 at stumps.
If the Black Caps do as now expected and finish this summer’s test programme by earning a third straight win, it will long be remembered for Williamson and Nicholls.
Beginning the second day on 155-2, the pair put on 363 for the third wicket — the fifth-highest partnership for New Zealand in tests — and rendered irrelevant any concerns over their short- or long-term prospects.
Williamson had already banished doubts that flared in tandem with his elbow tendon, an injury that saw him endure almost a year without a 50 in any format. This 215 was his second double-ton of the summer and third knock above 100 in his last four turns.
Nicholls, conversely, started today aiming to end a run of 14 innings without scoring more than 30, a prolonged slump that left his spot subject to external debate. This unbeaten 200 rewarded the side’s selectors who seemed to possess few qualms about persisting.
The pair’s contrasting form came together in a day of batting sublimity, as Williamson recorded his sixth test 200 while Nicholls collected a new career high.
The delightful double was almost entirely deserving. Although Nicholls was dropped twice, on six and 92, he otherwise matched Williamson in shot-making and exceeded him in strikerate.
Both batsmen are generally content to strike near 50 in tests but both scored freely throughout their innings, cracking a combined 38 fours and six sixes.
What most impressed was that neither man ever appeared in a hurry. Instead, their rapid accumulation was mere reflection of their command.
“It was good fun,” Nicholls told Spark Sport. “The way he played was brilliant and it allowed me to do my thing.
“We just kept trying to remind each other to do it a bit longer. To bat with someone like that is pretty cool — it’s an honour, really.”
The fun began in a breezy opening hour in which the pair eased past 100 and hinted at what was to follow.
Williamson achieved the first of many milestones, becoming the only Kiwi to reach 8000 test runs. Needing 164 innings, he drew level in eighth alongside Brian Lara and Matthew Hayden for fewest required, while also moving past Mark Waugh, Garry Sobers and Geoffrey Boycott in total career runs.
Naturally, the former skipper barely acknowledged the subsequent announcement to the crowd, though he was soon forced to remove his helmet and raise his bat.
Williamson notched his 28th test ton in style befitting an innings of total authority, bisecting a couple of fielders with a perfectly placed drive to the cover fence.
Sri Lanka took the new ball shortly before lunch, the hosts relishing their meal on 304-2, but it did nothing to negate the batsmen’s dominance.
Consecutive Williamson boundaries saw the 200-run partnership come up from 308 balls, before he surpassed 150 for the 10th time in tests.
At the other end, Nicholls was fortunate to escape when chipping a simple caught-and-bowled chance to Dhananjaya de Silva, using that life to celebrate his ninth — and most relieving — test century.
The 31-year-old went to tea after pulling 16 runs from Asitha Fernando’s final three balls, as the pair passed 300 while scoring at 5.35 in the middle session.
Remarkably, today marked the second time Williamson and Nicholls had compiled a collective triple-ton, having enjoyed a 369-run stand against Pakistan in 2021.
This partnership fell barely short when Williamson attacked after becoming the seventh man in test history to register six double-centuries. Holing out to long-on represented his first real mistake in six-and-a-half hours of batting.
Williamson was soon applauding from the pavilion as his erstwhile partner made it a double-double, prompting an immediate declaration from Tim Southee that was duly vindicated before stumps.
First, Henry found the edge of Oshada Fernando; then, Conway snagged a cut from Kusal Mendis while airborne at full extension, giving Bracewell a wicket in his first test since 2016.
Such an absence exemplified the Black Caps’ longstanding loyalty to incumbents, though Nicholls acknowledged his runs today were nearing necessity.
“You’re always wanting to contribute to the team, and I haven’t been able to do that as much as I would’ve liked,” he said. “It was nice to make that into a really big one and put us in a position where we’re right in front in the game.”
