Munro’s role must change
Last chance for a change of plans for the Black Caps’ ODI side. Colin Munro’s latest Twenty20 bombardment of boundaries again emphasised how his ability to influence the shortest format should be transferable to the 50-over per side game.
But to do so, the left-hander has to be handed a different role to the one he has floundered in this summer.
Problem looming however – coach Gary Stead has reiterated he wants to stick with the current blueprint.
‘‘We’ve had similar plans right throughout ODI cricket from I guess when I’ve started through til now,’’ Stead said on Sunday night following Munro’s damaging 72 off 40 balls.
It was from the same hymn sheet the coach preached when his troops fell 3-0 behind in the ODI series against India, when Munro and fellow opener Martin Guptill were struggling woefully.
‘‘We’ve got a very clear plan on how we want to play; I guess a blueprint of the model and style. That won’t change – it hasn’t changed,’’ Stead said last month.
The blueprint wasn’t altered but the personnel soon were – Henry Nicholls replaced Munro at the top of the order for the rest of that series, leading to Munro being dropped from the first two games in the upcoming threematch ODI series against Bangladesh.
The Black Caps brains trust has explicitly pushed the need for a solid platform at the top of the ODI order, with maintaining wickets a greater priority than a flying start.
But World Cups can be won with a nod to innovation over preservation, and Munro could still be the game-changer.
He needs to be unshackled from his present tactical burden
‘‘When you have someone who can be destructive like that, it’s great that he’s on our team.’’ Black Caps coach Gary Stead
and allowed to play as he does in T20 internationals, where he averages 33.59 at a sizzling strike rate of 161.99. Otherwise, his presence is redundant.
Compare that to his ODI stats – 25.28 average at 105 runs per 100 balls. Something isn’t working.
The 31-year-old doesn’t need to bat for 25 overs to influence the outcome – and it’s unrealistic and pointless asking him to. His longest ODI innings are knocks of 77 balls.
When Munro departed on Sunday night, his side was 135-2 in the 14th over. That’s not often repeatable in ODIs, but the occasional 83-2 off 10 overs may swing a World Cup encounter more than 48-1.
There may be the fear that early wickets when Munro has a free rein will prove damaging. But New Zealand have Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor – two of their best ODI top/middle order players in history – capable of batting the majority of overs and a middle/lower order featuring the likes of Nicholls, Tom Latham, Mitchell Santner, Colin de Grandhomme and Jimmy Neesham to finish off.
Alas, there is only one chance to try this approach in an ODI before the World Cup – game three versus Bangladesh at University Oval in Dunedin on February 20.
That’s despite Stead still talking glowingly of Munro.
‘‘It showed how devastating he can be,’’ he said after Sunday’s broadside.
‘‘There’s been a fair bit of talk and speculation around Colin and his place going forward in the team.
‘‘Tonight I think showed what he is capable of.
‘‘When you have someone who can be destructive like that, it’s great that he’s on our team.’’
Except he’s not currently on the ODI team.
‘‘When we get to the World Cup we’ll make that call at the time, depending on who we think is the right team to play,’’ Stead said.
‘‘I hope we can keep looking at current form and where people are at and I hope they keep making it tough for us, both of them.’’
Yet it feels like the ship has already sailed for Dear Old Blighty with its colours firmly tied to the mast.