'For me, I've played against Kane when I was about 14-years-old and now to be playing Test cricket with him as well. He's a very special player and probably will easily go down as New Zealand's greatest.'
All-rounder Daryl Mitchell heaped praise on skipper Kane Williamson saying that the latter is a "freak" and will "easily go down as New Zealand's greatest" player. Mitchell's comments came after the captain scored a double ton to put New Zealand on top against Pakistan in the second Test.
Williamson scored 238 as the Kiwis declared their first innings on 659/6 -- a lead of 362 runs on the third day. Mitchell feels Williamson's knock has set them a chance to win the match.
"Obviously Kane's 238 ... that's pretty amazing and he has set us up for a chance to win this Test match. He is a freak, isn't he? He's amazing. He makes the game look so easy at the moment and the way he's going about things, it's cool to see him doing so well," ESPN Cricinfo quoted Mitchell as saying.
"For me, I've played against Kane when I was about 14-years-old and now to be playing Test cricket with him as well. He's a very special player and probably will easily go down as New Zealand's greatest," he added.
Williamson's enthralling performance was not the only thing that earned him Mitchell's praise. Mitchell said he is "very grateful" to Williamson for not declaring the innings early and allowing him to reach his maiden Test century. New Zealand was on 599 for 6 at tea but Williamson did not declare the innings and Mitchell made the most of the extra time. He played an unbeaten knock of 102.
"It probably hasn't sunk in yet, to be fair, it's pretty surreal at the moment. I was given two overs to start after tea, so I thought after two overs we were off but obviously very grateful for Kane and the coaching staff to allow me to get that milestone," Mitchell said.
"I was swinging pretty hard there at points to try and get there and very grateful for that to happen. I was just happy to go out there and try and be busy and contribute to trying to put a total on for us to try and get 10 wickets," he added.
Pakistan had to bat out 11 overs before stumps and Kyle Jamieson sent back Shan Masood (0) to the pavilion. The visitors ended the day on 8/1 -- trailing New Zealand by 354 runs.
