Resurgent Henry locks down Cup spot
In the space of two ODIs, Matt Henry has gone from on the cusp to a certainty in New Zealand’s Cricket World Cup squad.
The Canterbury seamer backed up his stellar 4-35 in the final ODI against India in Wellington with another impressive showing against Bangladesh in Napier on Wednesday, taking 2-48.
Henry and senior new ball partner Trent Boult knocked the top off the Bangladesh top order as New Zealand went on to record a comfortable eightwicket win.
Bowling six overs on the trot to start the match, Henry struck early, producing a ripper to knock over opener Liton Das. He then covered plenty of ground to catch Soumya Sarkar off his own bowling, Sarkar having raced to 30 from 22 balls.
Henry’s place in the 15-man World Cup squad, which begins against Sri Lanka at Cardiff on June 1, appeared in jeopardy before his heroics in Wellington. He was expensive in the three ODIs against Sri Lanka in January and missed selection for the opening three ODI losses to India.
Doug Bracewell loomed as a serious challenger for his spot after some solid outings against India and shining in the T20 victory over Sri Lanka.
With figures of 6-83 from 19 overs in his past two ODIs against India and Bangladesh, Henry has guaranteed his place in the Cup squad, to be named in April. He has also gone a long way to cementing his berth in New Zealand’s first-choice ODI XI, alongside frontline quicks Boult and Lockie Ferguson.
It would only be natural if Henry worried whether his World Cup hopes were slipping away early in the home summer, but he has allayed those fears.
He wasn’t used in the test series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates or against Sri Lanka at home, so was always going to take time to reach his best with the ball.
‘‘I’ve felt good all summer, to be honest. It’s just been good to get a bit of an opportunity and the ball is coming out nice,’’ Henry said.
‘‘It’s always nice when the bowling group comes together and we put performances together.’’
Henry was a late callup to the 2015 World Cup, being summoned as an injury replacement for Adam Milne. He was chucked right into the playing XI against South Africa in New Zealand’s thrilling semifinal win at Eden Park and also featured in the final loss to Australia at the MCG, where he removed David Warner and Michael Clarke.
Attending a second World Cup would be huge for Henry, but for now, he was only concerned about doing well against Bangladesh.
‘‘I think it’s a goal for everyone. It’s a pretty special thing to play in a World Cup.’’
Henry and the Black Caps were greeted by balmy Christchurch weather, which ticked over 30 degrees, as they touched down in the Garden City yesterday.
They will look to close out the Bangladesh ODI series tomorrow at Hagley Oval with a match still to play in Dunedin on Wednesday.
That would go a small way to atoning for their 4-1 ODI thumping by India and show they are tracking in the right direction, albeit against a Bangladesh team, who are yet to win an ODI in New Zealand.
Hagley Oval has been a happy hunting ground for Henry in ODI cricket. He has taken 10 wickets at 13.6 from four matches and snared four wickets on two occasions against Sri Lanka there in December 2015.
‘‘It’s exciting to play some cricket down here.
‘‘We haven’t played much here [this home summer]. It will be a good wicket as it usually is. Hagley is always looking great at this time of year.’’