Henry forced to play waiting game
Matt Henry’s wait for a second test cricket appearance on his home ground looks set to extend, despite his spectacular English county season.
The Canterbury seamer has played one game in the past seven weeks: the third one-day international against Pakistan on November 11.
Otherwise he’s been a good net bowler and ferried the drinks to his Black Caps team-mates in two ODIs and four straight tests, coming off a dream season for Kent where he was top first-class wicket-taker in England with 75 at an average of 15.48.
After the New Zealand pace attack struggled to dislodge Sri Lankan pair Kusal Mendis and Angelo Mathews during their mammoth stand in the drawn first test, there’s an argument Henry would change things up and add spark on his home track at Hagley Oval.
Trent Boult, after playing four straight tests, could warrant a rest ahead of a big home summer while Neil Wagner wasn’t at his best, either.
But coach Gary Stead, after observing his bowlers toiled in ‘‘very tough’’ conditions at the Basin, hinted the big three of Boult, Tim Southee and Wagner would continue for the decider starting on Boxing Day. New Zealand will reassemble on Sunday with an unchanged 13-man squad.
‘‘We’ll look at all options. But two of the test matches [against Pakistan] were over in four days and one of them we only bowled once. Where we thought the overs might have been up, and really big, we’re not at that stage,’’ Stead said.
‘‘Both Tim and Trent bowled 50 overs in this test so we’ll monitor how they are over the next four days but we’ve got enough time that we can select who we think is our best team because they would have recovered.’’
So where does that leave Henry?
The 27-year-old has nine tests to his name, including one in Christchurch against Australia in 2016 where he went wicketless. His test average of 46.52 doesn’t demand inclusion, but those who watched him tear through England county lineups with the Dukes ball will be bemused he can’t crack the test lineup.
Said Stead: ‘‘Matt’s an integral part of our squad and sometimes the opportunities are tough to come by.
‘‘We’ve also got a long summer ahead, and in terms of forward planning, there will be chances for people to come in and out and freshen up with a bigger view to the World Cup further down the track. I’m confident Matt will get a good amount of cricket over the summer.’’
Henry looks a certainty for the 15-man World Cup squad in the UK where he was second-highest wicket-taker in their one-day competition, too, with 16 at 34.43.
Stead backed Wagner to bounce back from a lean recent run of five wickets from his past three tests on flat surfaces. In the second innings in Wellington he took 0-100 off 23 overs where the bouncer barrage for once didn’t work.
‘‘Sri Lanka played Neil really well, probably some of the best batting I’ve seen against him for a while. Everyone knows what Neil is likely to bowl and Mendis and Mathews played him really well. They were gritty and prepared to take some on the body and I haven’t seen too many people do that. Hats off to those guys.’’