Christchurch [New Zealand], March 8 : New Zealand's leading Test run-scorer Kane Williamson and their second-highest wicket-taker in the format Tim Southee donned their 100th Test cap on Friday, 8 March, in the ICC World Test Championship series against Australia in Christchurch.

New Zealand are after a first Test win since 2011 against their trans-Tasman rivals and will hope stalwarts Kane Williamson and Tim Southee mark the momentous occasion with big contributions.

Southee and Williamson became just the fifth and sixth Black Caps players to reach the milestone of 100 Test matches.

The two Blackcaps veterans were teammates at the ICC Men's U19 Cricket World Cup in 2008 where the team reached the semi-finals before losing to eventual champions, India.

Southee had already made his senior international debut a few weeks before the U19 World Cup, in the T20I format. He would go on to make his Test debut within a year.

Williamson, on the other hand, had to wait until 2010 to make his Test debut, but since made rapid strides across formats to evolve into one of New Zealand's greatest-ever batters.

In a recent chat on The ICC Review, former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting recalled a story on Kane Williamson.

"I think it was certainly Kane's first tour to Australia and Brendon [McCullum] grabbed me after the Test match in Hobart in the change rooms. I'll guarantee you this kid's going to be something special. He's going to be a hundred Test match player for New Zealand. He's going to be one of the best batters in the world.' And he said, don't be surprised if he goes down as New Zealand's greatest-ever player," Ponting said as quoted by ICC official website.