Sodhi, Santner NZ trump cards
LEGSPIN is in. Yasir Shah reminded the cricketing world of that when he twirled and ripped Pakistan to victory over England at Lord’s, then claimed the world’s No 1 test bowling ranking.
Ish Sodhi could have been in England, too, but chose Christchurch instead. Yes, Christchurch. In mid-winter. Sodhi’s spinning fingers were cold, but itching to bowl as he wheeled down over after over in the grass nets under the marquee at Lincoln.
One of the standout bowlers of the World Twenty20 - along with his Black Caps spin twin Mitchell Santner - Sodhi had English county offers but said he knocked them back to work with his mentor Paul Wiseman in Christchurch with the red ball.
There are 14 tests for the Black Caps in Zimbabwe, South Africa, India and at home these next eight months; their busiest period in recent memory. And Sodhi has unfinished business in whites, starting with Thursday’s first test in Bulawayo.
‘‘There were a couple of opportunities in England but they didn’t work out. Generally it would have been T20 stuff and in terms of preparation for test cricket I was better suited to training at Lincoln. My preparation has been pretty bang on and I’m hoping to take that into the next month or so,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, play all three formats for New Zealand.’’
Sodhi’s just 23, and played the last of his 11 tests in November, 2014, leaving him with a record of 27 wickets at 53. He’s much better than that, and like a lot of spinners needed time. He realised not every delivery had to be a wicket-taker, and the looping free hits were lessened.
A year ago Sodhi’s resurgence began in Zimbabwe with a spell of 3-38 in an ODI, but it wasn’t until the last six weeks of the season when this stunning run began.
A match-turning ODI spell against Australia in Hamilton, including the prized wicket of Steve Smith, was followed by seven-wicket and five-wicket bags for Northern Districts, 4-24 in the inter-island match then that World T20 in his country of birth: snaring 10 wickets at an average of 12 as New Zealand swept into the last four. Control, guile, a vicious wrong ‘un and tailormade turning pitches were Sodhi’s trump cards.
‘‘It all came down to trusting GETTY IMAGES the fact I’ve done all the work I possibly can. Getting that success in international white ball cricket gave me a lot of confidence to use those same skills in the four-day format.
‘‘Then being able to take that to India on wickets that offered quite a bit for us spinners, I’m pretty proud of the way I handled the pressure over there.
‘‘I definitely wanted to improve on my consistency on and off the park and I wanted to get a lot fitter.
‘‘When I first came in I wasn’t at the level that was required. I GETTY IMAGES
‘ My preparation has been pretty bang on.’ ISH SODHI
went away and did a lot of work outside the game.’’
Now he has a spin partner in crime, too. Santner and Sodhi have combined effectively for ND but never in a test. That will likely change in Bulawayo. Santner, nine months older, snared near identical figures at the World T20 with 10 wickets at 11.4, and the pair were lethal in tandem.
With a three-test tour of India looming in September and conditions expected to favour spin in Zimbabwe, it’s a timely reunion, although Santner (first-class bowling average 53) also needs to transfer his white ball form in his fourth test.
‘‘He’s a left-armer and puts quite a few revs on it for a finger spinner. We bowl with a relatively similar mindset which is pretty attacking.
‘‘With the ball turning away our ideas and plans are pretty similar. We always assess the conditions together and give each other that little bit of feedback. It’s pretty easy to combine as a duo,’’ Sodhi said.
Bulawayo is expected to be low and skiddy, and Sodhi senses an opportunity if the pitch scuffs up. It certainly turned for him in Harare a year ago.
Zimbabwe will be limited but stubborn at home, and with New Zealand’s pace bowlers struggling to make inroads in recent tests, this exciting spin duo could provide the spark they need.