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Kane a 'thoughtful and deliberate captain'

Wellington - New Zealand coach Mike Hesson has praised Kane Williamson's captaincy, despite the side losing both the Test and ODI series in India this month.

Williamson has had a tricky time taking over from Brendon McCullum, and with India a tough tour at the best of times, Hesson said he was pleased with the skipper.

Williamson's batting was well below par on the tour, and Hesson felt that it would have contributed to the young skipper's stress levels.

Hesson said of the relatively rookie skipper: "Without a doubt he's developed.

"It's a tough tour for a captain when you're struggling for team performance and as captain you come under scrutiny and have to keep coming up with lots of different answers.

"Kane's a very thoughtful and deliberate captain and I thought he did really well."

Two players who earned fulsome praise were spinner Mitchell Santner and batsman Tom Latham, who were rare bright spots for the Black Caps.

Latham scored five half tons on the tour and was the side's leading run-scorer, while Santner was the most economical bowler in the ODIs, from either side.

The coach added: "They're two guys who had never played in India before but they adapted so quickly.

"All of us can learn that if you're good enough to keep evolving your game, you can have some success in all conditions.

"They're two very talented players but also two very smart players who deserved the success they got."


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