Plunket Shield: Kane Williamson returns for Northern Districts against Auckland 13 years since his last century

Wednesday, 26 November 2025

It was December 2012. The Black Caps captaincy furore raged as Kane Williamson and Tim Southee prepared to depart for South Africa, against a Wellington team featuring Jesse Ryder.

The venue? Karori Park, a suburban club ground in Wellington’s west popular with runners and dog walkers and, for a short period, a first-class cricket venue.

Southee blasted 156 then took 5-69; soon-to-be Black Caps gloveman Luke Ronchi scored dual centuries and snared eight catches, and Williamson crafted 121 not out to lead Northern Districts to victory.

Remarkably, 13 years on, that remains Williamson’s most recent first-class century for ND (albeit from a sample size of just six further Plunket Shield matches in that period).

On Wednesday, Williamson, now 35, will pack his gear bag at his Mt Maunganui home and make the short trip to Bay Oval to don the maroon helmet once again, with Auckland the unlucky opponents (or lucky, if any awestruck youngsters in the visiting side fancy an autograph or selfie with the Black Caps great).

It’s a safe bet this will be Williamson’s only Plunket Shield appearance of the season as he tunes up for the first test against West Indies starting in Christchurch next Tuesday. And, potentially, it could be his farewell for ND in whites, with two home tests against India pencilled in for next October-November followed by a huge four-test tour of Australia.

Needless to say, the chance to watch this master of his craft on home soil is becoming rarer and rarer as Williamson scales back his playing commitments around offshore franchise cricket and family time with his wife Sarah and three young children.

Now retired from T20 internationals, Williamson in a recent interview labelled the next Cricket World Cup in South Africa in October 2027 as a target. The big ticket test matches in that period would also seemingly pique Williamson’s interest, with three tests in England next June, then India and Australia to round out a bumper 2026.

“In the back of my mind there’s probably the ODI World Cup and there’s always other things, test cricket is pretty dear to me as well,” he said.

For now it’s the three tests against West Indies as the immediate focus, the only fix for New Zealand cricket purists this home summer. And a chance for statisticians to peer at test cricket’s records with Williamson sitting on 9276 runs and 33 centuries, and an elite career average of 54.88.

Just 15 cricketers have cracked 10,000 test runs while a mere 11 have scored more test centuries than Williamson. The great Brian Lara’s tally of 34 sits immediately above.

For Northern Districts since his debut as a 17-year-old Tauranga cricketing prodigy in December 2007, he scored six of his 45 first-class centuries and averages a very Williamson-like 53.

In recent years his appearances were intermittent and a shakedown for bigger tasks ahead, meaning a mixed bag on the scoresheet. This time last season it was 60 and 4 against Auckland at Seddon Park.

Still, putting aside his 0 and 21 in last month’s ODIs against England, Williamson has a century in his most recent test innings (156 against England in Hamilton nearly a year ago) and first-class innings (153 for Middlesex against Gloucestershire at Cheltenham in July).

He bolsters the Jeet Raval-led defending champions coming off defeat to Canterbury in round one, up against an Auckland side who hammered Central Stags by an innings.

The Stags welcome back Black Caps test squad members Will Young and Blair Tickner against Wellington Firebirds who also lost heavily, to Otago, and have test batsmen Tom Blundell and Michael Bracewell in their ranks.

Canterbury ushered in test skipper Tom Latham but kept Kyle Jamieson on ice as they head to Dunedin to face Otago with Glenn Phillips again in their ranks, in the battle of the Boyle brothers. Matt (Canterbury) and Jack (Otago) each scored career-best innings of 156 to guide their respective sides to victory last week.

Plunket Shield, round two

* Northern Districts (Kane Williamson) v Auckland Aces at Bay Oval, Tauranga

* Wellington Firebirds (Tom Blundell, Michael Bracewell) v Central Stags (Will Young, Blair Tickner) at Basin Reserve, Wellington

* Otago v Canterbury (Tom Latham) at University Oval, Dunedin

(All 10.30am Wednesday start, Black Caps test squad players in brackets)

Points after round one: Auckland 20, Otago 20, Canterbury 16, Northern 5, Central 4, Wellington 4.