The New Zealand captain provided a batting masterclass against Sri Lanka in Wellington on Sunday to keep up his chase of Virat Kohli to become the world's top Test batsman.
McCullum was 143 not out at the close of play, his eighth Test century, while Williamson was dismissed after tea for 113, his fifth hundred, as the Kiwis finished the opening day on a strong 329 for four in 90 overs.
New Zealand's late push for a place in next year's International Cricket Council's World Test Championship final will come to a head against an injury-hit Pakistan when their two-Test series begins on Saturday in Mount Maunganui.
The New Zealand captain finished on 200 not out as his side posted a record score of 715 for six declared in their first innings - a lead of 481 runs.
For Kohli, a trophy-less cabinet doesn't do justice to the champion performer that he has been for a decade.
In-form Sri Lanka right-hander Kamindu Mendis is another player on the move, with the 26-year-old improving five places to 11th and reaching a new career-high rating after he scored another century in the second Test of his side's recent series with New Zealand.
'We were certainly expecting that it would be tough. But what we didn't quite expect coming into the tournament was the large variety of conditions that we faced'
A new 50-overs world champion will emerge at Lord's after what many consider will be a battle between England's deep batting lineup and New Zealand's incisive bowling attack.
After hammering the Kiwis 3-0 in the Tests, the focus now shifts to white-ball cricket . New Zealand will be bolstered by the presence of star allrounder Corey Anderson as captain Kane Williamson looks to avenge the defeat in Tests. Also, MS Dhoni's men will need to win the ODI series by a 4-1 margin to claim third place on the ICC ODI Championship.
Tamilians and Keralites believe he is one of them, and people from Karnataka also consider him their hero.
The Indian team is still searching for the right middle-order combination with the World Cup just a few months away.
New Zealand Cricket dropped the latest threads their team will don at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 in India, starting October 5.
Axar also patted fellow spinner Varun Chakravarthy (5/42) for coming up with a match-winning spell.
New Zealand skittled Sri Lanka out for 122 on Monday to secure a series-levelling victory by an innings and 65 runs on the final day of a rain-hit second and final Test in Colombo.
New Zealand on Monday named a strong squad, which includes five spin bowling options
With the IPL season set to roll on Friday, one captain who has 100 Tests under his belt is willing and ready to mentor a newbie captain who will be taking over a leadership role for the first time.
New Zealand will have their tails up and eye another upset when they resume the trans-Tasman rivalry with a strong Australian side.
'I think there's a lot of other people that had England and India in the final right from the start, so I think Australia will be proud of their efforts as well.'
Out-of-form New Zealand opener Devon Conway will miss the third Test against England in Hamilton to remain at home for the birth of his first child this week
Kane Williamson completed an unbeaten century to guide New Zealand to a modest first day total of 240 of two in the opening Test against West Indies on Sunday.
Kane Williamson scored his second Test century and guided New Zealand to an unexpected draw as the hosts made 200 for six at the end of the third and final Test against South Africa at the Basin Reserve on Tuesday.
Impressed by the good-natured New Zealand cricketers, India captain Virat Kohli says if his side were to share the number one ICC Test ranking with any team, it will be the Black Caps.
Kane Williamson made the difference as he finished unbeaten on a splendid 50 from 44 balls, putting on an unbroken stand of 65 runs with Jason Holder (24) to steer Sunrisers to a hard-fought victory in a difficult run chase.
Sunrisers overcame the loss of Warner in style, savouring more success than failures, to claim the top spot in the pecking order along with Chennai Super Kings.
'That's a standard we want to keep going with for the rest of tournament.'
Rookie batsman Kane Williamson and pacer Hamish Bennett were the new faces in New Zealand's 15-member Test squad announced on Sunday for a three Test match series against India next month.
Captain Kane Williamson and Neil Broom both flirted with centuries as New Zealand cruised to an eight-wicket victory over Bangladesh in their third one-day international to complete a 3-0 series sweep at Saxton Oval in Nelson on Saturday.
New Zealand opener Rachin Ravindra believes adapting to the conditions will be key to success in the Champions Trophy final against India in Dubai.
New Zealand face England-beaters Afghanistan aiming to keep their unbeaten run intact
New Zealand bowler Lockie Ferguson joined Canada skipper Saad Bin Zafar as only the second bowler in T20I history to bowl each of the allotted four overs as maidens, returning figures of 4-4-0-3. Zafar recorded 4-4-0-2.
New Zealand coach Mark Greatbatch has said that Indian bowlers were using sledging as a tactic to unsettle young batsman Kane Williamson during the drawn second Test in Hyderabad.
Williamson has been a part of few Super Overs, with the most famous being the 2019 World Cup final, which England won on boundary-countback rule.
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson revealed he still finds it "difficult to make sense" of the heartbreaking World Cup final loss to England last year and hasn't yet figured if the epic match should count among the highs or lows of his career. New Zealand got a raw deal in last year's World Cup final when England were adjudged the winners on the basis of their superior boundary count after the epic game and the ensuing Super Over also ended in a tie.
Youngsters including Shreyas Iyer, Karun Nair, keeper-batsman Rishabh Pant, teen sensation Prithvi Shaw will be keen to make a mark and impress the national selectors during Tuesday's One-Day warm-up against New Zealand in Mumbai.
New Zealand's campaign has hit a disheartening flatline after their early domination and the Kiwis will have to rediscover their bowling mojo for a World Cup reboot when they face knocked-out Sri Lanka in Bengaluru on Thursday.
NZ face WI in virtual knockout, rain threatens to derail England again
Kane Williamson believes the late Martin Crowe remains the greatest batsmen New Zealand has ever produced despite surpassing the former captain as his country's highest Test century maker on Friday.
Tim Southee is eyeing the third Test against England as his swan song in the format but will make himself available for selection if the Black Caps make the WTC final next year.
Stand-in White Ferns captain Amy Satterthwaite was named the women's ODI Player of the Year, after taking some time off to have a baby and returning to the fold to score 304 runs at 38, including a top score of 119 not-out against England in Dunedin.
India will look for the right balance as they aim for a series-levelling victory against a spunky New Zealand in the must-win second Test.
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