Kane Williamson could prove as tough a challenge as Steve Smith, says Jofra Archer

Only once in Williamson's entire Test career has he gone through a home series without passing 50 – that was in a one-off Test against Zimbabwe in 2012

Bowling to Kane Williamson in his own conditions could be as taxing as trying to dismiss Steve Smith during the Ashes series, Jofra Archer has warned.

The England fast bowler wrote in his Daily Mail column that the New Zealand captain, like Australia’s talisman, “isn’t going to give you much either”.

He averages 59.04 in New Zealand and has a technique that few bowlers have been able to breach. Even James Anderson, who has taken Williamson’s wicket more than anyone else in Test cricket, has done so at a rate of 46 runs per dismissal.

In two innings against Bangladesh – Williamson’s last Test efforts on home soil, he made an unbeaten double-hundred and 74. Only once in his entire Test career has he gone through a home series without passing 50 – that was in a one-off Test against Zimbabwe in 2012.

“We’re probably going to have to try a bit of everything against him, although he plays the short ball pretty well,” Archer said of England’s plans for the Blackcaps skipper.

He added that England’s draw in their second warmup match – a three-day affair against a strong New Zealand A side – had acted as a wakeup call to the challenges faced by the tourists as they attempt to create enough wicket-taking opportunities to force victories on surfaces that have traditionally proven advantageous for batsmen.

^{Archer struck Hamish Rutherford on the helmet with a bouncer during the practice match}

“The pitch at Cobham Oval was probably the flattest I’ve played on in my life and it’s fair to say the Kookaburra ball is a bit of a challenge as well,” the fast bowler added ahead of his first overseas appearance in an England shirt.

“I’d never bowled with the red Kookaburra before, but I knew it was going to be tough and so it proved.

“People say it has a smaller seam than the Dukes ball we use in England but I’m not sure it has a seam at all! It isn’t pronounced on any part of the ball.

“It doesn’t hold its shine, either, and gets very old, very fast. There was a spell after lunch on the last day when it swung a bit and I said to Stuart Broad we had to make the most of it because it’s probably not going to swing for long.”

He took five wickets in the match, while also making an unbeaten 41 with the bat – his highest score for England.

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