William Salter Austen Williams (born 6 October 1992) is a New Zealand and English cricketer.[1][2] He made his List A debut for Canterbury on 18 January 2017 in the 2016–17 Ford Trophy.[3] He made his Twenty20 debut for Canterbury in the 2017–18 Super Smash on 14 December 2017.[4]

Will Williams
Personal information
Full name
William Salter Austen Williams
Born (1992-10-06) 6 October 1992 (age 32)
Christchurch, New Zealand
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm medium-fast
RoleBowler
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
2012/13–2021/22Canterbury
2022–presentLancashire
First-class debut12 November 2012 Canterbury v Otago
List A debut18 January 2017 Canterbury v 
Northern Districts
Career statistics
Competition FC LA T20
Matches 73 58 37
Runs scored 882 188 80
Batting average 12.60 9.89 26.66
100s/50s 0/1 0/0 0/0
Top score 61 19* 29*
Balls bowled 12,033 2,733 493
Wickets 207 78 30
Bowling average 23.09 29.38 26.23
5 wickets in innings 3 0 1
10 wickets in match 0 0 0
Best bowling 5/26 4/20 5/12
Catches/stumpings 31/– 24/– 26/–
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 29 September 2024

He was the leading wicket-taker in the 2017–18 Plunket Shield season for Canterbury, with 19 dismissals in eight matches.[5] In June 2018, he was awarded a contract with Canterbury for the 2018–19 season.[6] On 9 January 2020, in the 2019–20 Super Smash against the Wellington Firebirds, Williams took a hat-trick.[7]

In June 2020, he was offered a contract by Canterbury ahead of the 2020–21 domestic cricket season.[8][9] In October 2020, in the second round of the 2020–21 Plunket Shield season, Williams took his first five-wicket haul in first-class cricket.[10] In the next round of the tournament, he took another five-wicket haul, with 5/26 against Northern Districts.[11]

In June 2022, Williams was signed on a short-term overseas contract by Lancashire County Cricket Club to play in the County Championship in England.[12] The following month, Williams was signed as a local player by Lancashire until the end of the 2025 season and ending his Canterbury career.[13][14]

In addition to his cricketing career, Williams is also a pilot.[15]

References

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  1. ^ "Will Williams". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  2. ^ "Will Williams". Cricket Archive. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  3. ^ "The Ford Trophy, Northern Districts v Canterbury at Hamilton, Jan 18, 2017". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  4. ^ "2nd Match (D/N), Super Smash at Christchurch, Dec 14 2017". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  5. ^ "Plunket Shield, 2017/18 - Canterbury: Batting and bowling averages". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  6. ^ "Central Districts drop Jesse Ryder from contracts list". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  7. ^ "Super Smash: Will Williams bags hat-trick, five wickets as Canterbury stun Wellington". Stuff. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  8. ^ "Daryl Mitchell, Jeet Raval and Finn Allen among major domestic movers in New Zealand". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  9. ^ "Auckland lose Jeet Raval to Northern Districts, Finn Allen to Wellington in domestic contracts". Stuff. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  10. ^ "Plunket Shield: Doug Bracewell's stunning all-round performance in vain as Auckland win again". Stuff. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  11. ^ "Plunket Shield: Canterbury's Will Williams claims second five-wicket bag in as many weeks". Stuff. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  12. ^ "Will Williams: Lancashire sign New Zealander on short-term deal". BBC Sport. 11 June 2022. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  13. ^ "Will Williams: Lancashire sign New Zealander as non-overseas player until 2025". BBC Sport. 6 July 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  14. ^ "Will Williams ends Canterbury career to sign up with Lancashire as a local". ESPN Cricinfo. 6 July 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  15. ^ "Northamptonshire v Lancashire: Will Williams looks ideally suited to the County Championship | the Cricketer".
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