Former New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has shared his thoughts on being part of cricket’s famous Fab Four group. The group included Williamson, India’s Virat Kohli, England’s Joe Root and Australia’s Steve Smith. The four batters dominated Test cricket during a similar period and were often compared because of their consistent performances.
Williamson described the experience of playing alongside the three stars as ‘quite unique’. However, he revealed that he never paid much attention to the Fab Four tag during his playing career.
“I never thought anything about it. You’d hear it often because it would get put in front of you, but in some ways, now that I’ve finished, it feels unique. Not because of the numbers, but because we had quite parallel careers and actually got to know each other. Everybody did it differently while representing their respective countries. I look back on it not with pride in the tag or anything like that, but because there was a moment in time when we competed against each other for so long. I played with Rooty (Joe Root) at Yorkshire, Virat and I go back to the Under-19 days, and Smudge, it’s just quite unique,” Williamson said on the Stick to Cricket Podcast.
Williamson Shares His Relationship With Kohli, Root and Smith
Williamson also spoke about his personal connections with the other three members. He revealed that he spent more time with Kohli and Root than Smith. The New Zealand batter also played alongside Root at Yorkshire and knew Kohli from their Under-19 days.
“I mean, largely they’re all quite different. I’ve spent quite a bit of time with Virat and Rooty, and a little bit with Smudge over the years, but yeah, more so with some than others,” he said.
Williamson also praised the different approaches of the three batters. He admired their performances but always focused on his own responsibilities for New Zealand.
“They’re all different characters, but I loved watching them and how they went about things. I admired the way they did it. Personally, I always came back to my job and the team,“Williamson said.
The former New Zealand captain believes the Fab Four era was special because of the long period in which the four players competed against each other.
