NZ players ‘hurting’ but Stead remains loyal
Black Caps coach Gary Stead has backed his ‘‘proven performers’’ in the Twenty20 batting lineup despite continued questions over the makeup of the top-six.
With the T20 series already gone after three straight losses to India, New Zealand usher in Tom Bruce and farewell Colin de Grandhomme for the final two matches in Wellington tonight and Mount Maunganui two nights later.
De Grandhomme was a flop at No 4, scoring eight runs in three innings including a frustrating five off 12 balls with Kane Williamson flying at the other end, as New Zealand couldn’t chase down 180 in Hamilton before losing in a Super Over.
Wicketkeeper Tim Seifert – who made his name as a destructive and innovative opener – looks out of position at No 6 while opener Colin Munro scored 59 in the first match then struggled in the next two, slogging out for 14 off 16 in Hamilton.
Stead, whose team beat India 2-1 at home a year ago, said widespread changes to the batting were not the answer when asked if Seifert could shuffle up to partner Martin Guptill, enabling both Bruce and Daryl Mitchell to slot in.
‘‘There’s always room to shuffle and change things. Our starts haven’t been our problem. We’ve got off to reasonable starts in the three games,’’ Stead said.
Guptill has looked in fine touch but hasn’t kicked on to a big one. He and Munro posted 80 off 7.5 overs, 48 off 5.6 and 47 off 5.4 in the three matches to date.
De Grandhomme’s absence for games four and five was preplanned, and he’s now had five successive single figure scores in
T20 internationals. He wasn’t used with the ball until game three when he snared the crucial wicket of KL Rahul.
‘‘He hasn’t got the runs that he wanted to in this series but go back a series [Sri Lanka and England] and he played really well. Guys are entitled at times to not have the greatest series and it happens with all cricketers,’’ Stead said.
‘‘We have to be really careful in New Zealand that we don’t throw the baby out with the bath water because that can disrupt the team more than having some solidarity around it.
‘‘We’ve got guys who’ve been proven performers for us in the past and we always have those
‘‘When you need three runs off five balls you expect to do that all the time.’’ Gary Stead
selection dilemmas. We’ll keep addressing it, as we do every series.’’
Selections aside, Stead agreed his batsmen had enough chances to put India away. Williamson (95 off 48) produced one of the best T20 innings seen in New Zealand and looked in total control when they needed two off four balls from Mohammed Shami.
The skipper was caught off the edge then Seifert missed twice against Shami before Ross Taylor scuttled through for a bye, then chopped the last ball on requiring one to win.
‘‘When you need three runs off five balls you expect to do that all the time. They’re the little moments we have to get better at because we had it in our grasp.
‘‘We are hurting about the loss, it’s a game we should have won.’’
So too Tim Southee, who volunteered to bowl the Super Over after Williamson and Guptill scored 17 off Jasprit Bumrah.
After a tidy start to Rohit Sharma, Southee missed his length on the last two which both went sailing out of the ground. In Super Overs the Black Caps have now lost six out of seven, three of those in the last seven months after the World Cup final in July and Twenty20 decider in November both against England.
Stead said they practice death over scenarios in the nets but there was no substitute for learning on the job. Southee was the obvious choice as the senior man.
‘‘Tim is an experienced guy and he’s been around a long time. We have to make decisions around who’s the right guy to do it and Tim sticks his hand up, he’s a team first person and he stepped towards it again which is encouraging.’’