Wagner seizing small chances
After just one game and four days of international cricket, Neil Wagner’s season is a quarter done.
The 31-year-old is seemingly in his cricketing peak, taking 9-141 against the West Indies at Wellington’s Basin Reserve for his best figures in a match.
But Wagner’s peak may be under-utilised. The Black Caps play only three more tests this summer, and his involvement in international white ball cricket is non-existent.
Wagner won’t look back on his career as wickets taken, or five wicket hauls snared. He rates things by test wins, and this season he only has the chance to add four to his name.
‘‘In terms of four tests, it’s kind of the nature of the schedule, I suppose,’’ Wagner’s captain, Kane Williamson said.
‘‘After playing quite a few tests in previous years and looking like playing quite a few more in the next few, it’s just the way it’s panned out.’’
As for Wagner’s form with the red ball, Williamson was full of praise.
While he’s made a name for his short pitch, aggressive bowling, Williamson said Wagner’s ability to change the plan and roll with the punches has seen him take his game to another level.
‘‘He’s been brilliant. His ability to bowl that short pitched bowling as accurately as he does is not an easy thing to do,’’ Williamson said. ‘‘You don’t see many bowlers able to do that, that accurately and for that long a period of time.
‘‘But one thing with Neil, certainly in the last couple of years, one of his biggest assets has been his fuller length as well. He’s bowled a number of overs for not many runs taking on different roles with the ball in hand.
‘‘The nature of [his bowling], you might go for a few, but you’ll create opportunities as well and he was able to change his length today and bowl really well and really economically as well.’’
The Basin Reserve wicket never offered much for the bowlers.
Although green on day one, lateral movement off the deck was minimal but the bounce was there for all to see. Williamson described it as a fine test match wicket.
Where New Zealand struggled most was in getting movement through the air.
It is well documented that bowlers struggle to get the Kookaburra ball to swing unless playing in the friendliest of conditions, and the ball is being reviewed at the end of the season by New Zealand Cricket.
Seam bowlers generally prefer the Duke ball used in England, but both Williamson and Wagner played a straight bat to suggestions the ball was leaving the bowlers frustrated.
‘‘I think in terms of seam movement, it does come down to the surface, but I think it was a really good cricket surface,’’ Williamson said.
‘‘There’s a number of factors in terms of swing. It’s very hard to pinpoint one. It could be overheads, it could be seam position, it could be a number of things.’’
Wagner described the going as ‘‘tough’’ with the Kookaburra ball.
‘‘I mean, the ball’s the ball at the moment, and everyone is bowling with it,’’ Wagner said.
‘‘At the end of the day you’ve got to make the most of it you can out in the middle.
‘‘I think scenarios and conditions can sometimes be a factor when the ball does go soft or go out of shape, and that happens.
‘‘I do like the Duke balls. They are nice balls and they do swing. When they get scuff marks on them it’s quite nice to bring them back, and you can shine them... and obviously they have a pronounced seam which is nice as well.’’
If Trent Boult, one of the world’s finest swing bowlers, couldn’t get movement through the air over the past four days, you wonder if anyone could with the current ball.
It would be no surprise to see the bowlers campaigning for a switch to Dukes for the 2018-19 season, and for Wagner to be pushing for more test matches to roll the arm over in.