Black Caps’ problem with Raval
Jeet Raval won’t be the only nervous one when he pads up for the second innings against England at Bay Oval, and again at Hamilton next week.
New Zealand coach Gary Stead and his batting assistant, Peter Fulton, already face a task to restore their opener’s confidence so he can post a morale-boosting score before boarding the plane to Australia for his toughest exam yet.
If Raval can’t snap out of his recent trot, Stead has his first serious headache of this five-test stretch amid an otherwise rock solid top-seven. That’s assuming Kane Williamson’s troublesome hip behaves itself.
Since 31-year-old Raval ground out a breakthrough century, 132 in the first test against Bangladesh at Hamilton in March, his sequence of test scores are: 3, 33, 4, 0 and 19. In his 21st test, his average is a tick over 34, with one century.
For Auckland in two Plunket Shield matches his contributions were 7, 3 and 14, as the drainage debacle at Dunedin’s University Oval cost him at least one other warmup knock.
Raval batted 93 minutes and faced 68 balls on Friday, playing England’s pace attack solidly enough after the early loss of opening partner Tom Latham. The pair arrived at Mt Maunganui with an average stand of 40.94 since January 2018, the highest of any country’s test openers, according to CricViz.
The problem was when England introduced Jack Leach’s spin, Raval lost his shape. He looked anxious despite having played himself in, and refused to use his feet to the left-armer. It proved his undoing when he didn’t get to the pitch of one and was caught trying to attack.
England captain Joe Root will have noted this spin struggle, as will Australia who have offspinner Nathan Lyon up their sleeve.
There’s also Raval’s outfielding which was a worry, including a difficult but catchable chance which denied Tim Southee five wickets.
Raval, it appears, has been guaranteed these next five tests at the top with Tom Blundell the only backup batsman in the 15-man squad. That will provide solace for the left-hander, but also some worry for Stead if his runs and confidence remain low.
The other big question is: who replaces Raval if he was to be jettisoned? Of the two obvious candidates, Will Young remains sidelined after shoulder surgery and Devon Conway is not eligible for New Zealand until September. Young is expected back next month for Twenty20 cricket, so will return to the frame for the India tests in February.
Otherwise it’s a question of who raises their hand. Hamish Rutherford is next opener in the queue, nearly five years from his last test, a solid option but not someone who demands selection.
Glenn Phillips had a prolific Plunket Shield last summer and his century for New Zealand A against England was impressive but he needs more time.
Young Rachin Ravindra is another NZ A pick, while another 20-year-old, Auckland’s Finn Allen, raised his bat against England in the far north. They’re promising but nowhere near test standard yet.
A further problem for the aforementioned names, and further security for Raval, is the head-scratching New Zealand Cricket scheduling. Having played three Plunket Shield rounds, the next four-dayers aren’t until February 22.
That’s one day after the start of the first test against India at Wellington, meaning no more chances for any contenders to prove their worth in red ball cricket. That’s despite the Super Smash finishing on January 19 when India arrive for white ball cricket before the two tests.
It means any batting replacements for the test squad, if required, will need to be plucked from 50-over or T20 cricket which is hardly ideal. The latter is where all the money is, and test cricket fits in where it can despite these next five being the focal point of the summer for traditional cricket fans.
No-one will be happier than Raval, and Stead, if the leftie can go big in the Bay Oval run chase or at Seddon Park. If not, or if injury strikes someone else, then it’s a case of who wants to come in cold against the world’s best pace attack in Australia.