Sean Williams - Zimbabwe - Batting Allrounder

Sean Williams is a reliable batter and a more than useful left-arm spinner for Zimbabwe. He made everyone sit up and take notice when he was one of the stand-out players in the 2004 Under-19 World Cup by performing consistently with bat and ball. When the Zimbabwean players strike happened in 2004, Williams was widely expected to be given a call to the national side. His father, Colin Williams, however refused to send his son, suggesting that let him concentrate on studies.

He made his debut in 2005 when Zimbabwe toured South Africa, making only 12 in a losing cause. He was also selected and made captain of the Under-19 side for the World Cup, where he led his team to a surprise win over England. There were rumours that Williams had differences with the board and the rumours were confirmed soon as he rejected a central contract.

He was part of the Zimbabwe squad for the World Cup in the subcontinent in 2011 but was forced to fly home for recovery due to a fractured thumb. He made his Test debut against West Indies in March 2013.

Williams was recalled to the Test side when Zimbabwe took on South Africa in the one-off Test. He didn't do much in the game, scoring only 24 and three. However, he was back to his best in the subsequent tri-series which featured South Africa and Australia. He scored a couple of crucial fifties against the Proteas and took seven wickets, he was also part of the team that pulled off an upset win over Australia.

Williams had a dispute with the-then head coach, Stephen Mangongo, and was dropped from the tour of Bangladesh in October-November 2014. However, with Dav Whatmore being named as the head coach, Williams was recalled to the side and was part of the 2015 World Cup squad. Williams starred in Zimbabwe’s World Cup 2015 Pool B game against UAE. He scored an unbeaten 76 to help his side get over the line by 4 wickets. Later in the tournament, in a do-or-die game against Ireland, Williams made a solid 96 but got out at a crunch situation when Zimbabwe needed 32 runs off 19 deliveries. Eventually, Zimbabwe failed to win that game as they fell short by 5 runs and their World Cup hopes ended in a devastating way.

Williams showed what he is capable of in his comeback Test match against New Zealand in Bulawayo in July 2016. He was battling through a flu but he showed great character and resolve to carry on and scored his maiden Test ton. It was only his third Test match and Williams notched up the quickest Test ton by a Zimbabwean off only 106 balls. Although Zimbabwe slumped to an innings defeat, William’s stoic knock proved that a positive mindset and grit can do wonders for you.

Williams has also scored the fasted ODI ton by a Zimbabwean batter and it came off only 75 deliveries. That knock came in a match against UAE in Harare in April, 2019. Over the years, Williams has grown into an efficient all-rounder for Zimbabwe in all three formats of the game. The reverse-sweep is one of his favourite shots and he employs it to great effect. He also bowls probing lines and lengths and his changes of pace are not easy to deal with for the batters.

In September 2019, Williams was handed over the T20I captaincy for Zimbabwe. He captained Zimbabwe for the first time in T20Is in a tri-series involving Nepal and hosts Singapore in September-October 2019. Although Zimbabwe lost a game against Singapore, they eventually went on to win the tri-series. Willliams won the Player of the Match award in two of their four games. Soon after that, Williams was named the Test captain in January, 2020 and his first assignment involved leading Zimbabwe in a 2-match home Test series against Sri Lanka. Williams scored his second Test ton on the first day of the second Harare Test.

In March 2021, Zimbabwe squared off against Afghanistan in a 2-match away Test series. Williams led from the front with the bat in that series and scored two centuries and a half century in three innings. Williams was awarded the Player of the Series for his gutsy performances with the bat. He certainly thrived with the bat under pressure and seemed to enjoy the responsibility.

Sean Williams has seen a number of highs and lows in his ongoing international career. He has battled through injuries and has had issues with the Zimbabwe cricket board on and off. Williams has captained Zimbabwe in all three formats and that is an appreciable achievement. He has produced numerous special knocks and some match-defining performances with the ball as well. Although Williams no longer leads Zimbabwe in any format, the hunger to do something special for his country as a player is still there. The 2023 ODI World Cup Qualifiers might be the perfect stage for Williams to produce something memorable for his country.