“If I can lead by action, and not with my mouth, I think the kids will grow from that very fast,” Williams said after the first day’s play. “They’ll start to do the similar things and start to do the same things off the field as well as on the field. And that for me is probably the best I can do as a senior player, and also keep that discipline and professionalism in place.”
Zimbabwe’s current XI has three debutants – Ben Curran, who scored a half-century, Newman Nyamhuri and Trevor Gwandu – and three other players – Joylord Gumbie, Takudzwanashe Kaitano and Brian Bennett – in just their second Tests. That makes Williams, with 19 years of international experience to his name, their most experienced player (in terms of time, as Ervine has more Test caps) who is keen to lead proactively.
Not only did Williams score big, but he scored quick. His hundred came off 115 balls and his next 54 runs off 59 deliveries as he took on the Afghanistan bowling to dominate on his home ground in what he described as a “historic day”.
“Being able to get a hundred on a day like this is a very big thing,” he said. “We used to wake up early in the morning to watch Boxing Day Test matches and it’s finally here at home.”
“Having intent doesn’t start at Test level. It actually starts at the franchise level, where I try to create my own pressure, to be able to play the way I’m going to play at an international level”
Sean Williams on his preparation
The “we” refers to his father Colin, who passed away in April 2022 and to whom Williams dedicated his achievement, and his brothers Michael and Matthew. But it might also be about other aspiring Zimbabwe cricketers, who grew up turning on television sets to watch Boxing Days Tests being played in neighbouring South Africa and at the MCG and wondering if they would ever get the opportunity to enjoy an occasion like that first-hand. The irony is not lost in the fact that matches in those two places were taking place at the same time, and have attracted much more attention than the goings-on at Queens Park, where there has also been a fair amount of drama.
Williams was on 124 when he was given out caught after a Zahir Khan delivery carried off his pad to a slip fielder. He started walking before the square-leg umpire opted to check for a bump ball and he was called back to continue batting.
“I was actually a little bit angry with myself because as a batter, you stand your ground. Even though you’ve been given out, I feel you have the right to stand your ground for them to go and check. I didn’t do that,” Williams said. “I started walking off, trusting the umpire’s call, even though I knew I wasn’t out. But, luckily, the square-leg umpire went across and said, ‘you know, I think we should check this one’. It was a big emotional turnaround from that point, because I had worked so hard.”
“Having intent doesn’t start at Test level,” he said. “It actually starts at the franchise level, where I try to create my own pressure, to be able to play the way I’m going to play at an international level. So I will do something at franchise level, where I’m putting myself under pressure, so that I’m constantly training hard. And in a match situation, it’s even better, because you have the pressures, you’ve created them for yourself, and then you grow from that.”
Already, Williams and Zimbabwe have shown they can deal with the pressure of a varied Afghanistan attack. Their next challenge is to see if they can drive their advantage home, to make even more history.
Firdose Moonda is ESPNcricinfo’s correspondent for South Africa and women’s cricket
