Cricket: Williamson robbed of triple century

Brad Wilson. Photo / APN

Brad Wilson will have all the scheduled fourth day of his Plunket Shield cricket clash to ponder a missed opportunity to see a rare triple century.

The Northern Districts captain pulled the pin on his side's first innings with Kane Williamson 16 runs short of becoming the sixth New Zealander to score a first-class triple century.

Sensing they needed a long time to bowl Wellington out for the second time on what seemed a placid pitch at Lincoln, Wilson must have been pleased and a little guilty that by the end of day three his side had wrapped up a mammoth innings and 230-run victory.

Not that Williamson, with 284 not out next to his name, will hold it against him.

"The wicket was very good and we thought we'd need a lot longer to bowl them out," Williamson said. "Hindsight's a nice thing isn't it. It was very good to have a win and do it in three days."

Three wickets in Wellington's second innings would also have soothed any regret the 21-year-old might have felt.

He had been warned by Wilson that the declaration was imminent.

"That was the word, if I didn't get close in the over I was given, we'd have to declare. I try to stay very much in the one-ball-at-a-time thing, but obviously when you get a bit closer to those milestones it starts to creep into your mind, but it didn't quite turn out like that - but that's all right."

Still, it was an epic knock spanning three days, 400 balls and close to 10 hours. In one innings he lifted his first-class aggregate from 2675 runs to 2959 and his average from 41.2 to 45.5.

It means he will head across the Tasman with complete confidence in his game and his mental approach.

"I've been preparing pretty well, but it doesn't matter what game you go into you're going to face something different and you need to prepare yourself differently against different attacks."

Nowhere will that be more evident than when he faces Australia at the Gabba. With a bowling attack likely to include New South Wales speedster Pat Cummins, Williamson will have to adjust from the sluggish wickets of Zimbabwe and New Zealand to a surface that will bounce and provide assistance to the quicks.

"It's obviously something we don't have in New Zealand, so you just have to try to prepare as best you can ... Everyone's different and plays different shots so working out your [own method] is the key."

By Dylan Cleaver