Kane Williamson and Tom Latham prove to be constants in New Zealand cricket against Pakistan in Karachi

The cracks in the Karachi pitch are opening. The late landed ball routinely attracted dust and towards the end Pakistan’s Spinners even turned from straight. But it was a slow turnaround. Magicians don’t care about that. What bothered them was the low bounce.

Williamson in particular enjoys standing tall and throwing the ball to third man on real pitches. This was anything but. So he had to lower his position, tighten his defense and play as directly as possible. This obviously messes up your chances of making quick runs, which is why he was only 7 off 45 at one stage.

It is too early to say what impact these two centuries will have on the Test, but one thing is for sure, this was Williamson and Latham at their computational best. They took great care not to get stuck on the same end for a long time. They used something in common – strong back-to-back football – to keep piercing gaps on the leg side. However, their limits were the result of special skills.

This has been a slow-burning Test match on a slow pitch where it has not been easy to score freely or bat quickly. But it has created an image that lingers. A long day’s work ends – and perhaps a new era in New Zealand cricket begins – with Williamson walking back to the dressing room to a warm welcome from Latham and Southee.