D'Arcy Waldegrave: Don't let Proteas' choices overshadow Kane's achievements

Ok, I get it. There are people out there who are struggling with the legitimacy of the Black Cap's first-ever series win over the Proteas. Just don’t let that overshadow the achievements of Kane.    The mid-stream quality of the touring party has been rightly questioned. South African cricket in its drive to survive decided that instead of defending an outstanding 92-year history, they would keep their best players at home for a T20 circus which would hopefully keep the financial barbarians from the gate. Instead of respecting the glory of the boomer of the game, they have kowtowed to the Gen Z mess.    Progress hey?    South African cricket deserve this blot in their copybook. Played with fire and burnt their fingerprints off. This is not an attack on the men who put up a reasonable scrap, but on the stuffed shirts that run the game in the Republic. Beyond that, the blame lies at the feet of the International Cricket Council who in time honoured tradition, spend their waking hours polishing the shoes of the Board of Control for Cricket in India.   Until the guardians of the game show some spine in the face of the plague of T20 tournament locusts, this second-string touring group will become the norm in test cricket. Shame on anyone complicit in this clown suit cash grab.    Aside that, the beauty of cricket is its numerical fascination. It’s a game neck-deep in numbers, a statistician's dream. Kane Williamson is currently the darling of the stat geek army. His figures of recent times are nothing short of staggering, his run of form and record-consuming antics make for a cricketing epoch that no one will forget, regardless of the opposition at various stages. Did anyone else score three centuries against SA in that series? No, no they didn’t. We are witnessing a low-key genius.    So, rip on the Proteas all you want but find some space in your bitterness to recognise a true great of the game.    Kane Williamson is a once-in-a-generation talent.   Revel in it.    That’ll do.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.