Black Caps legend Kane Williamson again falls cheaply for Northern Districts in Plunket Shield

Saturday, 29 November 2025

Black Caps star Kane Williamson has announced his retirement from Twenty20 international cricket.

Kane Williamson will go into the first test of the summer with just 27 balls of batting under the belt, after the Black Caps legend’s Plunket Shield tune-up ended up going awry with another cheap dismissal on Saturday.

A month on from his two ODI appearances against England (21 and 0), the casually-contracted 35-year-old, who didn’t play the white-ball series against the West Indies after announcing his T20 international retirement then opting to skip the ODIs, would have been eyeing some decent preparation time in the whites with Northern Districts against Auckland at his Mt Maunganui Bay Oval backyard the last four days.

After falling for just 17 in his side’s first innings on Thursday, Saturday was then set up beautifully for the batting maestro, even if the match situation wasn’t quite, as the hosts went about running down what would have been a record fourth innings total in New Zealand (win or lose) of 510.

Starting the day at 99-0, requiring 411 off 96 overs at 4.28 per over, ND at least set themselves up for a tilt, as captain Jeet Raval (129) and Henry Cooper (206no) combined for a monster 272-run opening stand.

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Former Black Cap Raval, in making his 23rd first-class hundred, also equalled the record for sharing in the most century partnerships in New Zealand first-class cricket (level with Michael Papps’ 51), in what was ND’s highest-ever opening stand against Auckland.

When the Aces eventually found a breakthrough, in the 83rd over, with a charging Raval slicing Jock McKenzie to Simon Keene at backward point, it had Williamson with the perfect platform for an afternoon of batting on the Bay belter, and indeed he was off the mark first ball with a well struck cover drive for three.

Kane Williamson didn’t get much time in the middle for Northern Districts ahead of next week’s first test against the West Indies. (File photo)

However, that turned out to be all his scoring done, as, for the second time in the match, Williamson was undone by the left-arm spin of Rohit Gulati, who went on to claim 10 for the game.

Lunging into front-foot defences either side of watching one turn sharply past his bat on the back foot, the Kiwi kingpin then had no answer to the next which drifted in and careered between bat and pad to knock off his off bail.

It made for rapturous scenes for Gulati, the 27-year-old who has moved from ND to Auckland this season and is the competition’s leading wicket-taker with 15, after successive hauls of five, six and four the past three innings, this latest one seeing him wheel down a marathon 51 overs.

After ND went to tea with a potential miracle still in the offing, three down, needing 189 off 32 overs (at 5.90), Gulati soon ensured there would be no more such thoughts for the home side, as he trapped Joe Carter lbw then very next ball had Brett Hampton smartly stumped by Cam Fletcher.

Shutting up shop, ND stayed the course to finish 429-6, their second-equal-highest fourth-innings total, and the highest-ever to draw a match in NZ first-class cricket, as Cooper went on to post his ninth hundred, second double century, and highest score, of his career.

Henry Cooper scored a second first-class double century as Northern Districts denied Auckland victory in Mt Maunganui. (File photo)

While he might have had batting royalty behind him, it was instead the 32-year-old right-hander who stole the spotlight, hanging tough to bat the entire day, in a mammoth 388-ball knock which featured 20 fours and one slog-swept six, as he doggedly denied the Aucks their second win from as many starts.

The Aces top the table by a single point, after Otago, and the Dunedin weather, were also able to deny Canterbury a second victory.

With the hosts beginning the day 18-0 in their quest for 383, they were reduced to 116-5, as Glenn Phillips (2), in his second game back from his long groin injury layoff, was unable to back up his first-innings 94, undone for a second time by Ish Sodhi (3-74) when trying to flick leg-side but being caught at slip by Henry Nicholls.

However, Max Chu (41), captain Luke Georgeson (44no) and Ben Lockrose (30no) were able to do enough, in conjunction with a two-hour rain intervention from the tea break, that only left five overs available when play resumed at 6.10pm and duly got the hosts out of trouble.

Ironically, the match which was most rain-affected was the only one which produced a result, as the Central Stags produced a brilliant run chase at the Basin Reserve to claim their first win and hand the Wellington Firebirds their second loss.

After the hosts declared overnight the Stags were set 361 and Black Cap Will Young’s awful run of form continued when he nicked a Liam Dudding inswinger behind to Tom Blundell for 7.

But from there it proved the Brad Schmulian (167no) and Curtis Heaphy (132) show, the pair combining for a whopping 292-run stand, which ranks as the fourth-highest-ever in first-class matches in New Zealand.

Heaphy, 22, hit 11 fours in his 235-ball knock, with this his third first-class century, and coming hot on the heels of plundering 190 for New Zealand A on tour to South Africa in September.

Schmulian, 35, hit 21 fours in his 228-ball knock, as he saw the job through in just 83.1 overs in conjunction with a brisk cameo from Dean Foxcroft (39no off 28), with the Stags’ 365-2 ranking as their sixth-highest fourth-innings total in their history.

Plunket Shield, Rd 2

At Bay Oval, Mt Maunganui: Auckland Aces 307 & 354-5 dec drew with Northern Districts 152 & (Henry Cooper 206no, Jeet Raval 129; Rohit Gulati 4-121).

At Basin Reserve, Wellington: Wellington Firebirds 345-9 dec & 124-4 dec lost to Central Stags 118-3 dec & 365-2 (Brad Schmulian 167no, Curtis Heaphy 132) by 8 wickets.

At University of Otago Oval, Dunedin: Canterbury 501-7 & 223-4 dec drew with Otago 342 & 214-6 (Luke Georgeson, Thorn Parkes 44, Max Chu 41; Ish Sodhi 3-74).

Points: Auckland Aces 27, Otago 26, Canterbury 24, Central Stags 20, Northern Districts 9, Wellington Firebirds 9.