Having been anointed Aotearoa Cricket's Golden Child in the Intro, Kane Williamson stands alone as our kiwi representative in the four-headed best of cricketing figures who are here to save the world. Not only does his ability with the willow put him alongside Steven Smith, Virat Kohli and Joe Root, Williamson sits at the table with his fellow Golden Children with a typically kiwi swag.

While the other Golden Children offer their own splash of flair, Williamson scores runs with a textbook technique and without fuss. As we watch Williamson prod on to his front foot to play a forward-defensive shot, we are swiftly taken to our younger years when we would spend hours getting throw-downs from anyone who was willing. We emulate Williamson in the backyard, steering the ball with soft hands, past the imaginary wicket-keeper, through to the wooden fence at third-man. 

When we as backyard cricketing deities lose patience, we extend the arms of a straight drive and boom the ball back over the bowlers head ... and over the house ... and over the road ... and then we hand the bat on to the next bugger. Six and out is easy to digest when you've smacked a straight six in such glorious fashion as Williamson would.

Depending on your personal preference, you'll relate either to Williamson's default 'rotate the strike' shot of guiding the ball through gully or you will relate to his lofted drive. They are shots of equal beauty, albeit vastly different beauty and even in a world of batting class, these shots are played with Williamson's signature all over them.  

Sure, some other jokers might be able to lean on a shot and get a single down to third-man. No one can do it as effortlessly as Williamson, his forward-defensive shot morphing into a run-scoring option that frustrates the opposition.

Sure, some other jokers might be able to hit a six over cover/the bowler. No one can quite do so as a mere extension of the arms, timing the ball rather that 'hitting' the ball.

These signature shots of Williamson have a common starting point: the forward-defensive shot. I've come to view this as being a metaphorical representation of Aotearoa as Williamson has mastered such a basic skill of cricket, to the point where he has been able to develop his craft around that basic skill. We all know that Williamson can reverse-sweep, Dill-scoop or ramp the ball, however in true kiwi fashion, this bloke destroys bowling attacks by merely adjusting a forward-defensive shot.

Consider the success of Williamson across all three formats when pondering his Golden Child nature; to score T20 runs or to up the ante in ODI cricket, Williamson just rolls through an extension of a shot that is his bread and butter in Test cricket. Other batsmen lose shape and implement power - or are only successful in T20 cricket - while Williamson has a toolbelt that is equipped for any format.

We've seen enough to know that apart from some sort of unfortunate divine intervention, Williamson will finish his career as Aotearoa's greatest batsmen ever. What we don't know or haven't seen just yet, is the power that Williamson holds in Aotearoa's cricketing landscape.

While Australia's Golden Child Steven Smith negotiates (alongside the Players Association) with Cricket Australia to figure pay structures moving forward, can we expect Williamson to wield such power? Could we see Williamson become such a figure that instead of Gavin Larsen's confusing selections and general sillyness, our Golden Child earns the responsibility of deciding who he wants in a squad?

Maybe Williamson might demand that women's cricket in Aotearoa is given equal footing to the men? Williamson might grow frustrated with the lip-service of equality and demand actions, hmm, power.

The exciting aspect of Williamson's possible power rise will be that he'll do so in his fashion; quiet and assured. It goes without saying that Williamson would scrub up nicely in a suit and tie, although this is a lad from Tauranga who would probably prefer to rock jandals and carry his surfboard. Blokes in suits can be incredibly frustrating and they tend to be older geezers, out of touch with the needs of today. The possibility of Williamson rising from batting prodigy, to skipper of the national team, to Golden Child, to all-mighty conqueror of Aotearoa Cricket is something that we genuinely need to consider.

And why wouldn't you want to consider that? 

Right now, it feels as though Williamson is still playing his role and that's understandable. People still find time to question his ability as captain, so before he can really become the leader of kiwi cricket, he needs to nail his position as captain of the national team.

I've just watched footage of Steven Adams saying 'fuck you' to a basketball rim (among a daily flood of amazing stuff that Adams does). I felt incredibly proud of Adams in that moment and it goes without saying that Adams represents us as young kiwis perfectly. Williamson does this as well and this is only the start of the journey; he's only just been anointed by yours truly as Aotearoa Cricket's Golden Child.

Here's to the next few years and one heck of a journey in following our leader.