The Sunday Mail
AS he gets to grips with the demands of a being a husband following his wedding a fortnight ago, batsman Sean Williams says he won’t decline the chance to captain the national team if selected.
The departure of Brendon Taylor for Country Cricket has left Zimbabwe Cricket hunting for a new Test captain and Williams — along wit h Hamilton Masakadza, Prosper Utseya and Regis Chakabva — has been touted as a potential team leader.
While the others have shied away from talking about their intentions, 28-year-old Williams has no such worries.
“Who wouldn’t want to captain their country in Test cricket? It’s the ultimate (honour),” he says.
The former Zimbabwe Under-19 captain adds that Taylor’s departure challenges other batsmen to step up their game.
“Well, I guess now that he is gone there is a place in the team for others to prove their worth. It will be difficult to fill the boots of the country’s leading hundred scorer, but he has definitely left a path that we can all follow and learn.”
Williams was Zimbabwe’s second-highest run-getter at the recent ICC World Cup with 339 runs at an average of 26,50.
He had some success with the ball too, picking up seven wickets from six innings. Taylor was Zimbabwe’s top run-scorer at the World Cup with 433 runs at a healthy average of 72,16.
“I thought that the World Cup had its ups and downs. I think for the first time in a long time we were scoring 280 plus, consistently.
“We had beaten Sri Lanka in the warm ups and we also had New Zealand pinned in a corner, it was an experience we will never forget. I cherish the moments we had on that tour,” says Williams.
The Matabeleland Tuskers player, who narrowly missed out on a maiden ODI ton in the heartbreaking loss to Ireland at the World Cup, is determined to score the elusive century this year.
“If I carry on going through the processes that Bundu (ZC director of coaching Andy Waller) has had me go through and getting the support from coach Dav Whatmore, that hundred is coming.”
Confidence on the playing field is one thing, confidence in the love field is another.
Williams reveals he was nervous as he prepared to wed his sweetheart Chantelle Dexter in Bulawayo.
“It was a feeling I cannot describe, waiting at the altar for her to walk down the aisle . . . all my nerves took control of me.
“It was a day we will never forget and the friends and family that shared that day with us made the day even more special.”
To Williams, his bride is that supportive lady behind every successful man.
“My wife doesn’t help me in the nets sessions, but when she gets the chance to carry my bags from the nets to the car, she does it.
“Her support off the field has defiantly pointed me in the right direction,” says Williams.
