He comes highly recommended by those in the know but Kane Williamson understands that kind words count for little in the cauldron of test cricket.
The 20-year-old is set for his test debut tomorrow when the three-match series starts against India here at Sardar Patel Stadium, a coming out event for a young man who has already left a trail of admirers during a brief career.
His Northern Knights coach Grant Bradburn rates him the best player of spin at domestic level while two years ago former English international Dermot Reeve identified him as a New Zealand captain of the future.
The youngest player to score a one-day international century for his country, Williamson will be employed at No 6 in the batting order and be called upon to put his shoulder to the wheel as a support spin bowler.
It is a huge responsibility for one so young but it is not something he is going to stress over.
In fact, he welcomes the challenge of taking on the world's No 1 test team in their own backyard, of matching his burgeoning talents against some of the modern game's multi-millionaires.
His five one-day appearances have been a mixed bag, a duck on debut against India in Sri Lanka in August followed by another two noughts in his next four outings, which included a battling century in Bangladesh last month.
He has shown what he is capable of and he's not the usual sort of New Zealand batsmen obsessed with seeking the boundary at all cost. Instead, he is comfortable milking the strike, easing the pressure by picking up ones and twos and putting away any bad balls.
Williamson told NZPA it was a matter of him trusting his instincts against the turning ball.
"I want to go out and play my game, stick to my strengths which is to use the crease when I can and come down when I can and make decisions I am comfortable with."
He has been busy doing his homsework on India's principal spin weapon, Harbhajan Singh, who revels in home conditions where he has picked up 248 of his 368 test scalps at an average of 27.88
"He's obviously a great bowler and an attacking spinner. He bowls a line that looks to hit the stumps and get lbws.
"It's a matter of taking their strengths into account but still sticking to your own gameplan and moulding it slightly rather than looking at their bowling and totally changing your game."
Williamson appreciates he is far from the finished article and also understands that this series will be a huge learning curve in his development.
"At times when I am not in the right frame of mind I can do something dumb.
"The key is to be in the right frame of mind every ball whether it's leaving a delivery or hitting it for four. It's probably more important in test cricket where you have to face each ball and play it the best you can."
He is unfazed at the prospect of being called on to play a role with the ball, with his offspin having netted him 30 wickets at an average of 42.73 in 20 matches at first-class level.
"If I am needed I'll be excited to take that opportunity and bowl against some of the best players of spin in the world.
"I've been working on my spin bowling a lot over the past two years and it's coming along nicely as a second skill of mine," said Williamson, whose ultimate goal is to follow the lead of his captain Daniel Vettori and develop into a genuine allrounder.
There are few players more worth endeavouring to emulate than Vettori.
NZPA
