Everyone seems to be talking about him, but Kane Williamson's as nonplussed as ever.
"You guys are allowed to chat about lots of different things and that's quite OK," he joked when asked how he's finding criticism of his form at the Twenty20 World Cup.
The Black Caps captain will lead the team out to face Ireland in their final group match against Ireland in Adelaide, where he'll bat in his usual spot of three in the order. But it's a spot some believe should be under question after a run-a-ball 40 in the loss to England, following scores of 13 against Sri Lanka and 23 in the win over Australia. His strike-rate for the tournament is less than 100.
His innings in Brisbane came with Glenn Phillips blasting England around the Gabba while the other two knocks were in huge wins, including helping New Zealand recover from a poor start against Sri Lanka.
"Context is really important so it does depend on conditions, partnerships as well, and really where you want your team to be at certain points in time," Williamson explained. "And if that is run-a-ball then that's of value if the team is moving forward with that and if it's not, then obviously you need to keep exploring different areas to get those boundaries away."
The England innings particularly was one in the spotlight – the skipper managing just three boundaries and 14 dot balls.
"There's a number of different, I guess, phases or gears to go through," Williamson said.
"I definitely want to keep touching on those third and fourth gears where you are exploring some different areas of the ground which, when I'm in full rhythm, comes reasonably naturally and, when you're not, you're working very hard to try and bring that into your game."
According to some watching on by the nets in Adelaide, Williamson spent longer than usual batting in training, trying to find that little bit of something that will see him find the rhythm he desires.
Williamson's hinting it's close.
"It's only a boundary or two away."
If that is indeed the case, it could come at the perfect time for New Zealand, who would all but assure their place in the semi-finals if they beat Ireland tomorrow.
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