New Zealand batter Kane Williamson has spoken of the allure of playing at the Lord's Cricket Ground ahead of the Black Caps' upcoming first Test of the series against England, to be played at the iconic venue from June 04.
In 2025, Williamson signed a deal with the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), which saw him represent Middlesex and the club's Hundred franchise, the London Spirit, both of which play their cricket at Lord's. This run also saw him forego his New Zealand central contract and is set to
feature in this series without one.
With New Zealand yet to have a Future Tours Programme (FTP) schedule with England ahead of 2027, there is the possibility that this is the legendary batter's final Test match at the iconic venue, according to ESPNcricinfo.
"It is always a special Test match. I think if you look over your career, you only get, well depends on how long you play for, but yeah, I've played for a while, and you will only get a handful of opportunities to come to Lord's and play," Williamson said at the pre-match press conference.
New Zealand's last Test at the iconic venue came in June 2022, where they were beaten by five wickets in England skipper Ben Stokes' first Test after taking over full-time. Joe Root, often considered Williamson's peer as a batting great, scored a magnificent fourth-innings century to guide The Three Lions home in a chase of 277 on that occasion.
Williamson spoke highly of the tradition and the history surrounding the venue, revelling in the experience of playing at the venue, and has stated it would be an experience for the players in their squad who are playing their first game at the historic cricketing landmark.
"I think the way they maintain the tradition, is quite special. It's unique to Lord's; the history that surrounds it, the effort that goes into, to all of that, you come here and you, you notice those differences to all other grounds. Walking out to the pitch through the long room, bumping into a few members, and obviously the lunches are iconic.
"There's a number of things that are memorable here. But it is a special place to play and I think everybody feels that their first time and also values every opportunity that they have. To have the experience that you have here. I know for a number of players in the dressing room, it's their first time and they're pretty excited at that prospect," he said.
The 35-year-old has an ordinary record at Lords, averaging 32 in eight innings, but has his name on the Honours Board with a magnificent 132 in 2015. Despite his brilliant knock, the Kiwis lost the Test by 124 runs in a thrilling finish on the final day.
"The honours board is something that people talk a lot about. It was an amazing game of cricket too, to be fair. We ended up losing, but scored 700 runs and took 20 wickets - on any other day we're pretty happy with that," the Wellington-born said, recalling the game.
"It was unique because it was a pretty good pitch and then, overheads came over and the lights came on and all of a sudden it was really, really difficult and that's some of the characteristics that you have here in particular in England with the Dukes ball. It was a memorable time some time ago, but I do remember it fondly," he added.
New Zealand's Test squad for tour of England 2026
Tom Latham (captain & wicketkeeper), Tom Blundell, Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, Kane Williamson, Zak Foulkes, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Nathan Smith, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Will O'Rourke, Blair Tickner, and Mitchell Santner
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