Black Caps turn to de Grandhomme
THE finisher. The closer. The matchwinner.
Whatever you want to call him in the Black Caps, auditions continue, starting in the cauldron of Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium in the first one-day international against India today (9pm NZT).
With Jimmy Neesham not required and Corey Anderson sidelined after back surgery, Colin de Grandhomme becomes the undisputed No 1 pace bowling allrounder and, despite his impressive strides in the past year, arrives under some scrutiny.
The next Cricket World Cup will be 19 years since New Zealand’s only world limited overs title in Nairobi, when a swaggering Chris Cairns was in his prime. He took complete control of that ICC Knockout final against India and his unbeaten century was a masterclass in finishing.
Finding a matchwinning allrounder who can stay on the park and dominate the last 10-15 overs with the bat has been a work in progress ever since. It became more urgent after New Zealand’s flop in their last assign- PHOTOSPORT ment, the Champions Trophy in June when promising starts against England and Bangladesh were left frustratingly unfulfilled.
Now, at 31 and well ensconced on the Twenty20 roadshow including the Indian Premier League with Kolkata, de Grandhomme plays just his 10th ODI carrying some expectation.
‘‘Colin deserves some further opportunities there. His development over the last 12 months has been impressive but we want to see that he can navigate us to a win and control those back end overs,’’ said coach Mike Hesson on departure. ‘‘He’s got the power to do it, and with the ball he’s a bit different from the others and there’s a chance to perform in those conditions.’’
A quick opponents benchmark.
Hardik Pandya is Indian cricket’s rock star, and averages 41 with the bat at a strike rate of 121 from 26 ODIs. With his lively pace and tricky variations Pandya has 29 wickets at 34 and economy rate of 5.6.
De Grandhomme’s ODI bowling numbers with his nibbly seamers are similar: average 38 and economy rate 5.3. Batting low in the order, around No 8, he averages 33 at a strike rate of 98.
He and Mitchell Santner look interchangeable at seven or eight in a batting lineup with some question marks, notably a lack of hitting power down low, de Grandhomme aside.
The batting worries eased slightly in the two warmup games with Tom Latham’s effortless return to No 5 and Ross Taylor’s busy, purposeful century where he took on the spinners.
De Grandhomme can clout the ball miles – as the glazier who fixed the window at the Basin Reserve’s Cricket Museum a few years back will attest – but they need more than one or two white Kookaburras in orbit.
Santner, too, needs to deliver more with the bat. glance at provides their the