Kane Williamson will continue his pursuit of one of cricket’s hallowed landmarks after being named in New Zealand’s squad to play Ireland and England in May and June.
Williamson has 9,461 runs at an average of 54.7 in 108 Test matches, and said in December he was considering retirement.
He will now get the opportunity to continue chasing the 10,000 runs in Test matches mark.
Only 15 players have scored more than 10,000 runs in the history of Test cricket. If he achieves the feat, Williamson would become the first player from New Zealand to join the 10,000 club.
“As you get to the latter stages (of your career) those thoughts certainly enter your mind,” said Williamson, who added his future commitment to the Black Caps would be “series by series”.
As it turns out the 35-year-old has committed to New Zealand’s next four Tests, while New Zealand will also play India at home and Australia away later in the year.
The 19-man squad will play a one-off Test against Ireland starting May 27 in Belfast before a three-Test series against England starting June 4.
The 10,000 Club
Sachin Tendulkar (India) – 15,921
Joe Root (England) – 13,943
Ricky Ponting (Australia) – 13,378
Jacques Kallis (South Africa) – 13,289
Rahul Dravid (India) – 13,288
Alastair Cook (England) – 12,472
Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka) – 12,400
Brian Lara (West Indies) – 11,953
Shivnarine Chanderpaul (West Indies) – 11,867
Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka) – 11,814
Allan Border (Australia) – 11,174
Steve Waugh (Australia) – 10,927
Steve Smith (Australia) – 10,763
Sunil Gavaskar (India) – 10,122
Younis Khan (Pakistan) – 10,099
NEW ZEALAND SQUAD: Tom Latham (c), Tom Blundell, Kristian Clarke (IRE only), Devon Conway, Zak Foulkes, Dean Foxcroft, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Will O’Rourke, Glenn Phillips, Michael Rae (IRE only), Rachin Ravindra, Ben Sears, Nathan Smith, Blair Tickner, Kane Williamson, Will Young (IRE only).
— AFP
Photo: Phil Walter/Getty Images