Watling keeps on keeping on
As the Black Caps batsmen look to atone for their poor performances in the second test, they could do worse than imitate their wicketkeeper, BJ Watling.
He faced 215 balls across both innings at the Basin Reserve for his 63 runs, and was the last man out in the second innings and the eighth in the first.
Jeet Raval may have faced more balls (257), and he and Henry Nicholls may have scored more runs (116 and 125 respectively), but while they both showed plenty to like, neither quite had Watling’s dogged determination not to give his wicket away.
The 31-year-old from Hamilton has been established in the test side since the ill-fated tour of South Africa at the start of 2013, and after missing one test in England later that year, he has now played 37 matches in a row, more than any of his team-mates.
Since the start of 2013, only Kane Williamson (110) has faced more balls per completed innings on average than Watling’s 91 among New Zealand batsmen, a figure that puts him ahead of Jeet Raval (86), Ross Taylor (84), and Tom Latham (83).
The numbers back up the clear picture you get from watching him bat - that he is someone who isn’t afraid to grind it out, and who is focused on surviving first and scoring runs second.
Watling is the man behind two of the 40 longest innings in New Zealand history in terms of minutes, a list that is topped by Brendon McCullum’s near 13-hour epic at the Basin against India. He is also one of just 11 New Zealanders to have batted for 470 minutes or more at least twice.
Speaking ahead of the third test, which starts in Hamilton on Saturday, Watling said his approach to batting was crafted when he was at school. ‘‘You want to bat for as long as you can, and I do love batting, and I hate getting out.
‘‘You respect each delivery as well and I think the South Africans bowl a lot of good balls that deserve respect, and you’ve got to wait a bit longer to get the balls to put away. That’s my mindset.’’
The Black Caps have struggled for runs from No 6 this summer, with none of their all-rounder options producing as the selectors would have hoped for.
Watling has been a consistent performer at No 7, averaging 41.85 since the tour of Zimbabwe last July and August, with a century and an unbeaten 83 on that trip; a pair of 49s, one of them not out, against Pakistan and Bangladesh; and a 50 in the first test against South Africa.
Moving Watling up a spot has some appeal but he said it hadn’t been discussed, and he was happy where he was, for the most part.
‘‘You do want more time in the middle, but my role’s always been to bat seven for the majority of my keeping days.
‘‘Keeping can be quite tough and it is a mental drain sometimes, focusing on every ball in the field. Batting at seven you get a little mental break before you’re back out there. For me, it’s whatever balance the team needs.’’