Nicholls sees his opening and takes his chance
Henry Nicholls played the best innings of his fledging career as a one-day international opener as the Black Caps took a 1-0 lead in their series against India.
His knock of 78 off 82 balls set the team up to complete a chase of 348 at Seddon Park in Hamilton – pipping their previous best effort by one thanks also to Ross Taylor’s unbeaten 112 off 84 balls and Tom Latham’s 69 off 48.
It was the fourth time Nicholls had passed 50 in his 10 innings at the top of the order, a role he was thrust into a little over a year ago, with the Black Caps seeking alternatives to the out-of-sorts Colin Munro.
With 338 runs in those 10 innings, at an average of 37.55 and with a strike rate of 72.68, Nicholls has offered a more solid presence than Munro, who had scored 366 runs in 17 innings since the start of last summer, averaging 22.87 with a strike rate of 102.53.
There is a trade off between speed and stability in swapping Munro for Nicholls, but it didn’t do the Black Caps any harm on Wednesday, as Martin Guptill and Nicholls combined for an opening partnership of 85 – the team’s fourth-largest in 35 matches since the start of 2018.
Nicholls has started opening for Canterbury this summer as well, and said he is enjoying his new role in the team, having previously played in the middle order, where he made his only ODI century as well as five other scores of 50-plus.
‘‘It’s not too much different really. I’m used to batting in a few different spots. But it’s been nice to be opening for a while, even coming into the series opening for Canterbury and having those games under the belt.
‘‘It’s just about trying to form that partnership up top, and it’s great to have Gup at the top with his experience and the quality he brings.
‘‘It was nice to get a bit of start
and it would have been nicer to take it on for a bit longer, but that sort of platform is nice for us at the top.’’
Nicholls is one of five players in the ODI squad who weren’t involved as India whitewashed the Black Caps in the five-match T20 series, but said those results hadn’t added any extra pressure ahead of the series opener.
‘‘It’s not something I felt among the group, coming in, having not been part of the T20s. Every time we go out there we want to win, regardless of whether we have been winning or not, so we certainly didn’t feel any added pressure and there was no need for us to prove anything,’’ he said.
‘‘On a small ground and with a big chase, it was nice to be able to get over the line and get a head start in the one-day series.’’
The series now shifts to Eden Park in Auckland for the second match tomorrow, where the Black Caps will be looking to wrap up a series win with a match to spare, ahead of the third contest at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on Tuesday.