Duffy impresses as a good keen southern man
If you were watching the Black Caps have their first net session of the week ahead of today’s Twenty20 against Pakistan at Eden Park, you’d have been forgiven for thinking Jacob Duffy was a batsman, not a bowler.
The Southlander has faced only 70 balls in his nine years playing domestic Twenty20 matches for the Volts, but would have gone close to facing half as many more on this occasion, spending almost half an hour with willow in hand.
If he makes a contribution with the bat tonight, he will be able to have a laugh and say all that practice came in handy, but what it made plain to see was his enthusiasm at being included in a Black Caps squad for the first time.
It’s been eight years since Duffy made his Volts debut as a 17-yearold, and his journey to this point has had its ups and downs.
He’s in the squad for today’s match only, with test seamers Trent Boult, Kyle Jamieson and Tim Southee returning to the fold for games two and three, but if the Black Caps go in with a four-strong pace attack, as they did when they played the West Indies at the same venue three weeks ago, he will make his debut.
If that happens, he will look back at the intervention his Volts coaches made four years ago, forcing him to remodel his bowling action after spotting that he was falling away in the direction of cover, rather than standing tall as he arrived at the crease.
‘‘Rob Walter and Anton Roux sat me down – they hadn’t seen a lot of me, but they knew something was a bit off – and I went back to the drawing board and missed a lot of cricket one summer, and honestly, that’s turned my career around,’’ Duffy said.
‘‘I’m forever grateful to those guys for seeing something like that. It was a massive turning point in my career and I’ve just been chipping away ever since.’’
As he made his Volts debut while still at Southland Boys’ High School, it feels like Duffy has been around forever, but he’s only 26, so there are likely to be more opportunities for him in the future.
One thing is for certain: He won’t be overawed if he does find himself charging in at Eden Park.
‘‘I think it’s just about keeping doing what I’ve been doing to get here, I guess,’’ he said.
‘‘I’ve got a particular brand of cricket I like to play and things that have worked for me in the last few years, so I’ll just be sticking to my guns and just trying to be me and hopefully my best is good enough to do well out there.’’
So, how about that net then? How did he end up putting so much practice in for a task that is unlikely to come this way?
‘‘I dunno, mate. My name was on the list, so I stuck in there while I got a chance,’’ Duffy said.
‘‘I haven’t batted that long in a long time, so I thought I’d make the most of it while the sun’s shining.’’
What: Black Caps v Pakistan, Twenty20 international series
Black Caps (game one): Mitchell Santner (c), Martin Guptill, Tim Seifert, Devon Conway, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Jimmy Neesham, Doug Bracewell, Todd Astle, Ish Sodhi, Scott Kuggeleijn, Jacob Duffy, Blair Tickner
Black Caps (games two and three): Kane Williamson (c), Guptill, Seifert, Conway, Phillips, Neesham, Daryl Mitchell, Kyle Jamieson, Astle, Sodhi, Kuggeleijn, Tim Southee, Trent Boult
Pakistan: Shadab Khan (c), Abdullah Shafique, Faheem Ashraf, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Hussain Talat, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan, Musa Khan, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Qadir, Wahab Riaz
Today, 7pm: 1st T20 at Eden Park, Auckland
■ Sunday, December 20, 7pm: 2nd T20 at Seddon Park, Hamilton ■ Tuesday, December 22, 7pm: 3rd T20 at McLean Park, Napier All matches broadcast on Spark Sport with live coverage on Stuff.
Classy Kiwi boxer Bowyn Morgan has sent his best wishes to rising Australian star Tim Tszyu and assured his fans that he is ‘‘unhurt’’ after a brutal knockout loss in Sydney on Wednesday night.
‘‘I’m safe, I’m unhurt, but tonight wasn’t my night,’’ Morgan said in an Instagram post.
‘‘Tim got the better of me early. I wish him all the best for his upcoming fight for a world title.
‘‘I’ll be back. This isn’t the end for the Boman.
‘‘This has been a hell of an experience. I can’t wait to get home and see my family.’’
The 31-year-old Morgan was outclassed as Tszyu battered him with a barrage of punches in the opening round in front of almost 12,000 fans.
Morgan survived one count inside the first two minutes before Tszyu ended the fight in spectacular fashion with a massive right-hand shot that sent the Kiwi to the canvas.
However, Morgan said the brutal knockout would not be the end of his career.
‘‘Lost to the better fighter,’’ he wrote on Instagram. ‘‘I won’t let this stop me and this is not the end.’’
Schedule: ■
‘‘I won’t let this stop me and this is not the end.’’ Bowyn Morgan
The victory means Tszyu could now fight Brian Castano for a world title early next year if current champion Patrick Teixeira isn’t able to meet Castano before January 6.
A crowd of 11,820 was on hand for Sydney’s first stadium fight since Anthony Mundine fought Danny Green in 2006.
Among the sporting celebrities ringside were AFL superstar Dustin Martin, NRL players Latrell Mitchell, Cody Walker, Damien Cook and Jack Wighton and Australian Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt.
‘‘You guys know what’s next – that’s the world title here in Sydney, in Australia and let’s do it 10 times the size of this,’’ Tszyu said after the fight.
‘‘Australia deserves this, it’s part of history and I’m Aussie born.
‘‘For my Russian fans also, utmost respect to you guys – this is for everyone.’’
Asked who was next, Tszyu said: ‘‘That’s the thing, now the list [of potential fighters] goes on.
‘‘For me, I only want one thing and that’s the world title strap here in Australia.