Robert Craddocks ranks cricket’s ‘big four’ batters – Steve Smith, Virat Kohli, Joe Root, Kane Williamson

Test cricket’s ‘big four’ batters have long been compared, ranked and re-ranked. But, as ROBERT CRADDOCK writes, there’s a reality which must be acknowledged. See Crash’s 1-4 ranks here.

Kane Williamson is a wonderful cricketer and worthy inclusion in Test batting’s Big Four – at number four.

For many years Williamson has been mentioned as part of cricket’s big four batsmen with Steve Smith, India’s Virat Kohli and England’s Joe Root.

As Williamson plays his 100th Test, Smith starts to fade, Kohli remains absent due to private issues and Root soldiers with days of brilliance mixed with plenty of low scores, there is a sense we have seen the best of this fabulous four and the order we put them in is probably not going to change.

I’ve got Smith first, then Kohli, Root and Williamson.

Kiwi superbat Williamson has one innings left to prove himself against Australia this series but in a sense it’s too late.

The trans-Tasman Trophy is gone again and Williamson was one of a large group of players from both sides to fail on the first day of the second Test against Australia at Christchurch, lbw to Josh Hazlewood for 14 after scores of 0 and 9 in the first Test.

That took his average against Australia to 36. Against India it’s 37 and 36 against England.

Not bad. Not great.

Williamson has had bountiful moments against all of these nations but if you are a great of the game you cannot be satisfied with a sub-40 average against any team, never mind your three greatest rivals.

Kane Williamson doesn’t boast the same record the other members of the big four do against Test cricket’s top nations. Picture: Hannah Peters/Getty Images

Williamson has systematically destroyed the likes of Bangladesh, South Africa, the West Indies and Zimbabwe but he surely would have loved to have more regularly dismantled the big boys as well.

He’s very good but – in terms of the Big Four – he sits in cricket where the USPGA sits in golf’s four majors.

The PGA is a grand event but it is not quite in the same class as the British Open, the US Open nor the Masters.

Smith is not what he was as a batsman – on Friday he was lbw for 11 to one which cut back – but his overall record is still stunning and the best of the Big Four.

He averages 56 against England including a staggering 12 centuries and 65 against India with nine tons.

Far from being intimidated by these two great foes, Smith found they brought out the best in him.

Kohli has had flat patches and has been in decline for several years but at his best he was a force of nature.

Kohli has a whopping eight centuries and an average of 47 against Australia.

He once had a tour of England where he averaged just 13 but has spruced up his numbers against that nation to average 42 including five centuries.

Root is an interesting one. He failed to score a Test century in Australia but he averages 40 against that team and a giant 57 against India including 10 Test tons.

He is one of the best players of slow bowling of his era and bowlers like Nathan Lyon speak of him with a certain awe.