'I'm just sick of it': Kane Williamson admits frustration with 'good guy' label attached to him and NZ cricketers

'I'm just sick of it': Kane Williamson admits frustration with 'good guy' label attached to him and NZ cricketers originally appeared on Cricket News . Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . KEY TAKEAWAYS: Kane Williamson says he is tired of the "good guy" label attached to him and New Zealand cricket. He described the dressing room after the 2019 World Cup final as quiet and bewildered. Williamson said people kept approaching him about the final for months afterward. Why Kane Williamson is tired of the good guy tag in New Zealand cricket Kane Williamson has spent the better part of a decade being described as cricket's most agreeable man, a reputation sealed by the way he handled the 2019 World Cup final. Asked about it on Stick to Cricket , he made clear the label has worn thin. Michael Vaughan put it to him that the calm, humble temperament has been a constant in New Zealand sides for as long as he has watched them, and asked whether it is something players are raised into. Williamson's answer suggested the framing itself is the problem. "Humility gets thrown around a lot, I reckon, and often it can probably be acted. But for us, it's just trying to stay authentic," he said. "Even the 'good guy' tag, I'm just sick of it, to be fair. You're just trying to do what you do in a way that makes sense to you." He did accept there may be something broader behind it, pointing to other New Zealand teams rather than to cricket alone. "It probably comes through in some of our other sports teams. Maybe it's just culturally in the country." MORE: 'We actually didn't win the World Cup?': Michael Vaughan jokes as Kane Williamson brings up Ben Stokes incident from 2019 WC final What the New Zealand dressing room was like after the 2019 World Cup final The reason the tag stuck is Lord's. New Zealand tied the final, tied the Super Over and lost on boundary countback, and Williamson's response in the aftermath was widely praised as gracious at a moment when nobody would have blamed him for anything else. His description of that night was less about grace than about confusion. "It was quiet, a few beers, and every five minutes, you know, 'What the hell just happened there?' And then you kind of crack on and go back to that thought," Williamson said. Phil Tufnell told him the reaction from the team had been remarkable and admitted he would have been furious in their position. Williamson's explanation was that distance made it worse rather than better. "The final experience was tough. Probably afterwards, in the months following it, you were actually sort of bumping into people constantly, and they'd watched it and just lived through it. It was massive," he said. "But you have a little less emotion when you're directly involved." MORE: 'We actually didn't win the World Cup?': Michael Vaughan jokes as Kane Williamson brings up Ben Stokes incident from 2019 WC final Why the 'good guy' label has followed Williamson for years Williamson's frustration is understandable, because the tag has quietly replaced the cricket. He has more than 9,000 Test runs, is New Zealand's leading century-maker, and captained the side to a World Test Championship title in 2021, yet the first thing most people reach for is how well he took a defeat. Being cast as cricket's underdog and as the losing team who are gracious in defeat is a convenient way of not examining why New Zealand lost, which on that night was a boundary countback rule the ICC scrapped three months later. The praise for his dignity replaced scrutiny of the result. For all the latest cricket news, opinion, and commentary, and to share your voice, head to our Facebook , Instagram , and X (Twitter) pages.