Nicholls knuckles down for Black Caps pressure test
New Zealand batsman learns much from early test failures. Brendon Egan reports.
A benign wicket in Bulawayo was the unlikely setting for Henry Nicholls’ transformation as a test batsman.
Safely established in the Black Caps middle order in test and one-day cricket, the 27-year-old is proof the most valuable lessons in elite sport are often learned from tribulations.
Days out from the second test against Sri Lanka at his Hagley Oval home ground in Christchurch, starting Wednesday, Nicholls’ development with the bat is some story.
He has risen to a career-best ninth in the ICC world test batting rankings with skipper and runscoring machine Kane Williamson ahead of him at two, behind India’s Virat Kohli.
It’s flown under the radar, but Nicholls has the second highest average (61.87) among the leading run scorers in test cricket for 2018. Williamson (66.77) is the lone batsman ahead of him.
Nicholls comes in at 24th on the most test runs scored (495), but that’s a product of the Black Caps’ lack of test opportunities in 2018, playing just six matches.
The left-hander has enjoyed a breakout calendar year, coming of age in the day-night test against England at Eden Park in March when hitting an unbeaten 145.
A strong player of spin, he thrived against Pakistan in the 2-1 test series win in the United Arab Emirates, notching 126 not out in the third test win, to go along with 77 and 55 in the earlier matches.
Nicholls’ batting rebirth hasn’t happened overnight. He credits a lean run in two tests against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo in 2016 – his second series in the side, as a pivotal chapter for his growth.
The Black Caps racked up the runs, but Nicholls failed with 18 and 15 on flat decks. He missed out and knew it. ‘‘Looking back for me, I actually found the Zimbabwe test series the hardest in terms of the pressure I put on myself to get a score. We were getting 500 in each game and probably looking back that was one of the best lessons for me just around expectations and the pressure I put on myself.’’
Rather than focusing on the outcome and visions of a big score, Nicholls realised he was skipping vital steps along the way. He wasn’t following the right processes and worrying too much about whether he belonged in international cricket – wasting energy and mental strength he should have devoted to batting.
Facing the formidable Australian and South African pace attacks in two of his first three test series, it was a baptism of fire. Although he battled early on, scoring 221 runs at 27.6 in his first three series, Nicholls became a smarter and tougher batsman, learning
from his struggles.
‘‘Certainly looking back now those experiences of failing and looking at the reasons why as opposed to the obvious thing, you didn’t get the runs [were huge].
‘‘What sort of pressure were you putting on yourself and the expectations I had around how I was approaching those innings. I consider myself pretty fortunate I played against those quality sides
early in my test career. Hopefully, looking back now and looking back in how many years’ time, that will be a real catalyst.’’
Eight months on from the Bulawayo blues, Nicholls brought up his maiden test ton against a classy South African fast bowling unit, featuring Morne Morkel, Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada at the Basin Reserve in March, 2017.
He strode to the crease with his team in strife at 21-3 and
contributed a fighting 118 in their first innings total of 268.
New Zealand suffered a crushing eight-wicket loss, but Nicholls had emerged.
Fittingly, the new and improved Nicholls wasn’t satisfied with the runs coming in a losing cause.
In the earlier test in Dunedin, he’d felt in better nick, getting to 12 before being brilliantly caught at first slip by Hashim Amla.
‘‘That probably seems silly to
most other people hearing that. I just knew that if I was able to play the way I did in Dunedin, if I could play that long enough and bat a longer period of time I knew it would end up being a meaningful contribution.
‘‘That was a bit of a catalyst in being really clear in the way I want to play and what that looks like. However many runs or whatever that results in I can live with the results of that knowing that’s the way I want to play.’’