Caps’ attack short of support
Opening bowlers nailed down but they will need help
It looks as if the Black Caps have two opening bowlers who will cause problems for opposition at the Cricket World Cup. The query now, though, is whether they will have enough support.
For the third straight one day international, the Black Caps’ new ball pairing of Matt Henry and Trent Boult took apart the opposition top order, giving the hosts an excellent start in their opening ODI against Bangladesh at McLean Park in Napier yesterday.
However, for the second straight game, the visitors managed to scrap their way out of trouble, with Bangladesh recovering from 94-6 to post 232.
Sure, in totality, the Black Caps would have taken a chase of 233 if offered pre-match, but after India recovered from 18-4 to post an eventual winning score of 252 in Wellington, they will be hoping, and needing, to develop a greater killer instinct to beat the best at the World Cup.
Yesterday, Boult and Henry had reduced Bangladesh to 42-4 after 8.2 overs, and further inroads from Lockie Ferguson and Mitchell Santner had the contest set up for an early conclusion.
But, much like they did against India in Wellington, the Black Caps’ seam all-rounders were largely easy to negotiate. Colin de Grandhomme’s five overs went for 19, and Jimmy Neesham’s seven for 26 — both economical, but not threatening enough to halt Bangladesh’s rebuild.
Mohammad Mithun led the recovery with 62 from 90 balls, getting support in the lower order from Mehidy Hasan, who blasted a quick 26, and Mohammad Saifuddin, who struck 41. Saifuddin and Mithun added a record 84 for the eighth wicket, and it raised the question of how the Black Caps bowlers will fare when they don’t get off to a fast start, and whether they have the required strike bowlers in the middle overs.
In the last three ODIs, the Black Caps have taken 13 wickets from overs 1-12, and just nine from 12-43, struggling to get support from the bowling options later in the innings. Ferguson, whizzing through at speeds of up to 154km/h yesterday, has that potential when bowling at his best, while Santner took three wickets, but was more expensive than usual.
In some conditions, a second spinner such as Ish Sodhi or Todd Astle could provide that option, but on seaming wickets will Neesham (with an ODI bowling average of 35.2 at 6.4 runs per over) or de Grandhomme (49.4 at 5.1) be threatening enough to keep the pressure on?
It’s something that will be on the minds of the Black Caps selectors, with just two ODIs remaining until the Cup, and while it’s a concern, it’s not all bad, as it’s a problem largely stemming from their dominance with the new ball.
As a new-ball partnership, Henry and Boult have now combined to take 17 wickets in the last three games, at an average of 12.5. The success of their combination is likely to leave Tim Southee out of the Black Caps’ firstchoice XI — an XI with promise, if they can hone the killer instinct.