Patient innings cap de Grandhomme’s remarkable progress in tests this summer
For all the outstanding moments from Trent Boult, Ross Taylor, Tim Southee and Co, an argument can be made that the most progress by a New Zealander this international summer came from a surprising source.
Boult deservedly won the Richard Hadlee Medal as player of the year this week, and you’ll find no argument here. But Colin de Grandhomme didn’t appear
anywhere on the list of awards. If you consider where he sat at the start of the season, his development might yet come to be seen as a watershed in the career of the strong, quiet man from Auckland.
If you’d had a bet on who would be New Zealand’s top test runmaker this summer, the money would rightly have been on Kane Williamson or Ross Taylor. Wrong on both counts. Over the meagre fare of four tests this summer, Taylor made 251 runs at
50.2; Williamson 222 at a surprisingly low (by his lofty standards) 37.
De Grandhomme’s scores were
105, 58, 22, 29, 72 and 45, which averages at 55.16 and aggregates 331. Top on both counts. His wicket return as the fourth seamer, six at 39, isn’t eye-catching, but those around him insist the job he does, keeping things tight, is valuable.
The century at the Basin Reserve off 71 balls, is the second-fastest by a New Zealander, and equal ninth of all time. That performance was in character for a player who happily pronounces himself a “see ball, hit ball” kind of batsman.
At Hagley Oval, he showed another side to his batting, grafting three-and-a-half hours over 72 in the first innings, facing 151 balls, and backed that with another 137 minutes’ toil over 45 in the second innings as New Zealand strove to draw the test and win the series.
That innings ended in an awful shot, caught hooking on the fine leg fence when New Zealand needed him to stick around. De Grandhomme slammed his bat down, furious at himself. Perhaps it’s the little voice at the back of his mind telling him to follow his instincts.
Just as happened against England in an ODI in Wellington last month when he lobbed a catch to long on when on three, as Williamson needed all the help he could to try and get New Zealand over the line. It’s maddening, and something de Grandhomme needs to work on. But he talked in Christchurch about curbing those instincts when needed, how he’s been trying to apply himself if the situation demands it.
When de Grandhomme was recalled to international cricket after a four-and-a-half year absence in late 2016, a lengthy tenure wasn’t expected. He’s proved the doubters wrong and more power to his arm — not that he needs much more — and a pat on the back to the selectors for backing their hunch. Now if only he could rid himself of that little voice in his head.