Humble Williamson aware of ‘tough battles’ and upsets

New Zealand skipper Kane Willamson was not at all distracted by the gap in Test rankings between the Kiwis and Bangladesh as the hosts take on the Tigers in the first Test tomorrow at Hamilton.

He reiterated that Test cricket was the 'pinnacle for most cricketers' and thus 'every opportunity to play it is a good one,' for him and his side.

New Zealand have now won five Test series in a row and going into the Test series against Bangladesh, Kane was eager to spell it out that the series was just as important as any other of the Test series they have played and won in recently.

"Every Test series is important and certainly valued in the same lot as any other opposition. As you have seen overseas, there perhaps have been upsets with some very strong teams over there.

"In this game, you can get together as a group and play some good cricket. Every team in international cricket is a threat. They are all very talented.

"We saw Sri Lanka in South Africa and it was a fantastic effort. So hard to beat South Africa anyway let alone in their backyard. Anybody can beat anybody and it's all about trying to play your best cricket," he stated regarding the focus of his side.

Despite winning the ODI series 3-0, Williamson said that it also gave Bangladesh time to adjust coming into the Test series. Asked if Bangladesh could spring a surprise on the hosts, Williamson said: "We always have tough battles against Bangladesh. If we think of the last series here, when Bangladesh were sent in to bat and got 500. So it's a tough battle."

New Zealand moved up to second in the Test rankings after South Africa's defeat to Sri Lanka. Williamson was not too interested with the rankings rather saying that playing good cricket was the focus going into the three-match Test series.

"You turn up in every game to play the best cricket. It ends there. In terms of results, rankings and how people view it, aren't really focusses for us."