From Bert Sutcliffe in the '50s to Bevan Congdon and Glenn Turner through the '60s and '70s and Crowe in '80s, unarguably New Zealand's best player of reverse swing, Williamson with his stylish batting and able leadership has surpassed them all, according to 62-year-old Smith.

"Kane is so highly ranked in the world, so it's no surprise that he is seriously highly ranked in New Zealand too. Probably our best player and when you combine leadership with it, I think we can safely say so," Smith told PTI in an interview ahead of his country's second successive World Cup final.