Sawt Falasteen - New Zealand's Williamson glad to be back at 'unique' Lord's

Lord's, which has staged more Tests than any other venue, is cricket's most historic arena and Williamson has no intention of taking his latest appearance there for granted.

"It's always a special Test," the batsman told reporters at Lord's on Tuesday.

"I've played for a while and only get a handful of opportunities to come to Lord's and play and have the experience that you have here."

Williamson, a veteran of 109 Tests -- but only four at Lord's -- added: "I know for a number of players in the dressing room it's their first time and they're pretty excited at that prospect."

Asked why playing at Lord's, the headquarters of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in north London, was different to other grounds, the 35-year-old added: "I think the way they maintain the tradition is quite special. It's unique to Lord's.

"The history that surrounds it, the effort that goes into all of that. You come here and you notice those differences to all other grounds.

And I mean, every ground is different. But walking out to the pitch through the Long Room (of the Pavilion), bumping into a few (MCC) members, and obviously the lunches are iconic.

"There's a number of things that are memorable here, but it is a special place to play. And I think everybody feels it their first time and also values every opportunity that they have."

Williamson has scored over 9,000 Test runs at an average of 54.58 including 33 centuries.

While celebrated batsmen Ricky Ponting, Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara all failed to score a Test hundred at Lord's, Williamson got his name on the dressing room honours board with an innings of 132 back in 2015.

"I suppose the honours board is something that people talk a lot about," said Williamson ahead of Thursday's opening day of the first Test.

"A memorable time some time ago, but I do remember it fondly."

Y.Shaath--SF-PST