Kane Williamson Resigns As New Zealand Test Captain, Tim Southee Replaces Him As Skipper

Williamson passes on the leadership baton to Southee who will lead the team in the first Test against Pakistan.

Kane Williamson has decided to step down as the captain of the New Zealand Test team with immediate effect. Williamson had been the skipper of the BlackCaps Test squad for 6 years and after his decision to resign from the leadership role it is pacer Tim Southee who has been announced as his replacement.  Williamson, will, however, continue to lead the country in white-ball cricket. 

"Captaining the BLACKCAPS in Test cricket has been an incredibly special honour," Williamson said as per an official New Zealand Cricket release. "For me, Test cricket is the pinnacle of the game and I've enjoyed the challenges of leading the side in the format," he added.

The 32-year-old, who led the country to triumph in the inaugural World Test Championship cycle, also cited increased workload at this stage of his career as the reason to take the call.

"Captaincy comes with an increased workload on and off the field and at this stage of my career I feel the time is right for this decision. After discussions with NZC, we felt that continuing to captain the white-ball formats was preferable with two World Cups in the next two years."

In record books, Williamson will go down as one of the country's most accomplished Test captains. He led the Kiwis in 40 Tests, winning 22 of those and drawing another eight. Williamson-led New Zealand lost 10 Tests. In the Test matches in which he was the skipper, the right-handed batter had a phenomenal batting record as he averaged 57 and notched up 11 centuries.

Massive honour to be appointed as Test captain: Southee

Williamson passes on the leadership baton to Southee who will lead the team in the first Test against Pakistan, becoming the country's 31st Test captain.

"It's been a surreal few days and it's just a massive honour to be appointed as Test captain. I love Test cricket, it's the ultimate challenge and I'm really excited by the opportunity to lead the team in this format. Kane's been an outstanding Test captain and I'm looking forward to working with [coach] Gary [Stead] on how we can build on that," the right-arm speedster said.