McClenaghan keen to pull his weight
Mitchell McClenaghan still has a strong desire to pull on his black cap and represent New Zealand in Twenty20 cricket. The 31-year-old pace bowler hasn’t played a Twenty20 international for New Zealand since March 30, 2016, despite doing the rounds in domestic
T20 competitions and always excelling in the wicket-taking column.
Today, McClenaghan launches his latest business venture, a F45 gym in Howick, Auckland, which will take his attention as he waits for cricketing opportunities to come his way.
He hopes that will include another New Zealand cap at some point in the near future, but understands he hasn’t been in the best form of late.
‘‘I’m still available for New Zealand,’’ McClenaghan said. ‘‘It seems to be the misconception out there at the minute that I’m not available.’’
In 2017, McClenaghan handed in his New Zealand contract to focus on
Twenty20 cricket, a way he thought would ensure his readiness for international Twenty20s.
‘‘To be fair, I’ve had a couple of bad overs recently which hasn’t probably made it look like I’m in great form, so I understand if they’re leaving me out based on form.
‘‘I’ve still got passion for New Zealand cricket but, as it was spelled out to me quite clearly, the likelihood of me playing in any format for New Zealand other than T20 is very little, so for me, when I made the decision, it was about me making sure I can always work on my T20 skills which are
completely different [to longer formats].
‘‘The thinking was to keep putting myself in the frame to play T20 cricket for New Zealand. Once you stop playing T20 cricket those skills disappear very quickly.’’
The transition to Twenty20 specialist has been tough at times, but also rewarding.
McClenaghan was the fourth top wicket taker in the 2017 IPL with the Mumbai Indians, taking 19 at a strikerate of just 17.05.
But when the 2018 IPL auction rolled around, McClenaghan didn’t have even the hint of a bid for his services, meaning he will have to wait on any calls as a replacement player.
Twenty20 is a fickle game, and while McClenaghan had a tough time of it in the Big Bash, a big performance could always be just around the corner.
‘‘It happens all the time. We saw that with New Zealand’s best bowler at the minute in Trent Boult,’’ McClenaghan said.
‘‘[Against England] he took 2-46 and that’s T20 cricket.
‘‘Like we’ve seen in the past, in another game he’ll go out and get 3-28, you know, winning you a game.
‘‘If you put each game in a vacuum, you can say this guy is the best player in the world, or this guy is the best player in the world.
‘‘But when you’re building a
Twenty20 team, particularly in tournaments, you want a team of guys who can win you 3 or 4 games in a 10 or
12 game comp.’’
While playing opportunities are slim for the moment, McClenaghan said he will keep himself fit and healthy in case the calls come, and his new gym helps.
F45 is new to New Zealand, with 10 studios about to open here.
McClenaghan said his sister had introduced him to the new style of training, and former Australian cricketer Shane Watson had helped him buy into the business.
‘‘I ended up getting in touch with Shane Watson when I was in the [Caribbean Premier League] and he’d just brought into a franchise so he showed me what it looked like behind the scenes and it was pretty inviting.’’
It will help him take his mind off missing out on the IPL.
‘‘You have such a short life span as a professional athlete that you need to build the life skills and be in a position where you’ve learnt a lot when you come out of it.’’
"It seems to be the misconception out there ... that I'm not available."
Mitchell McClenaghan on playing again for New Zealand