Sodhi, Henry in cup danger
Some agonising calls loom for Black Caps coach Gary Stead in the coming weeks. None tougher than the one he may have to make on one of his favourite bowlers, Matt Henry. The recent rise of Doug Bracewell and an apparent move for both allrounders Jimmy Neesham and Colin de Grandhomme to be shoehorned into New Zealand’s World Cup squad leaves Henry at serious risk of missing the cut.
With Trent Boult, Tim Southee and Lockie Ferguson assured in the pace bowling ranks (yes, Southee is not in danger of missing the cup 15, but faces a struggle to be a regular starter), it leaves one more pace bowling spot to fill. That looks increasingly likely to be Bracewell.
Henry appeared a shoo-in after topping the English County Championship wicket-taking charts with 74 – admittedly with the red Dukes ball – and finishing second in the one-day competition with 16 wickets at 34 for Kent.
Even more so with the luckless Adam Milne – the man they wanted to pick – too big a risk with his injury issues and still sidelined from Twenty20 with the Central Stags.
Henry took the new ball in helpful conditions in Hamilton on Thursday as Boult scythed through India with a superb spell. Henry didn’t snare a wicket in eight overs, in just his fifth
ODI since he headed to the the United Arab Emirates in early November.
Henry’s only other cricket in that period has been three T20s for Canterbury, a startlingly light workload for someone who showed in England he thrives on plenty of overs. Still it’s all about taking chances and his four ODI wickets at 71 and economy rate of 6.3 in those five ODIs suggest Stead’s mind could already be made up on his former Canterbury charge.
Bracewell is a genuine first-change bowler and if the ball’s not swinging, he can be useful as he showed in Napier against India. He’s also a death bowling option which Henry is not, and crucially offers something with the bat at No 8.
That’s the key for Stead and co-selector Gavin Larsen, who will likely know their final 15 after today’s fifth ODI: multi-skilled cricketers.
It also puts legspinner Ish Sodhi – another who’s hardly bowled the house down in recent weeks – in the ‘‘at risk’’ bracket.
The final spot in the 15 looks likely to come down to whether they pick three spinners: Sodhi, Mitchell Santner and Todd Astle, or take the safe option and choose a back-up batsman who can also keep wicket, either Tim Seifert or the dependable and versatile B J Watling.
Seifert is yet to show he’s up to one-day international level with gloves or bat, which lessens his chances, while Watling looks a solid back-up option with bat and gloves. They could do a lot worse than Watling, the country’s best keeper, but, again, Henry Nicholls’ versatility could scupper that idea.
In the spin ranks, Santner is a certainty and legspinner Astle looks an increasingly good bet after making a measured return from injury. Like Bracewell, Astle fields well and can bat eight, and there’s a strong chance New Zealand will play two spinners in their XI at various stages.
Sodhi has bowled brilliantly in England T20 for Nottinghamshire – where they face India at the World Cup – and is a potential matchwinner, but bowled 17 wicketless overs against India at Mount Maunganui. His batting and fielding has improved, but if it’s a toss-up between him and Astle, the latter will be selected for his all-round ability.
Sodhi’s case is helped by Nicholls being shifted up to open the batting and being touted by Stead as a potential back-up wicketkeeper for Tom Latham.
That means they could take a big risk with just six specialist batsmen in the squad, including Colin Munro, who will go, but may now be seen as batting cover down to No 6 and a sixth bowling option after his demotion from the opening spot.
Speaking of that: Will Young’s continued exclusion remains baffling.
Yes, Nicholls looks a viable opening option, but Young looks the perfect batting cover who can fill any position, and took his game to a new level without the shackles of the Stags captaincy.
The selectors told Young his best chance of a call-up was to open and, on form, he deserved a shot. But the fact he wasn’t tested against India suggests Stead’s mind is made up for the cup.