Make him all-round good guy
ton by a Kiwi and the ninthquickest of all time, and at Seddon Park he faced just 63 balls, hitting five fours and four sixes, as he wrestled the momentum back the Black Caps’ way in the face of a West Indian fightback.
De Grandhomme has now hit more sixes (14) than any other batsman in test cricket in 2017 and his rate of scoring, and the sometimes purely destructive nature of it, can really be a demoraliser for a fielding side. No wonder Shannon Gabriel was a relieved man to have seen the back of him, after going through his defences with the new ball.
‘‘You know if you’re slightly off he will put away any bad balls, or sometimes the good balls,’’ said Gabriel, who ended the day with 3-79 off 19 overs. But it’s not just all crash and bash, having entered the fray at 189-5 and with New Zealand in need of some stabilising.
Opener Jeet Raval has watched a fair bit of de Grandhomme as an Auckland team-mate, and said he’s certainly improved the tempo he bats at.
‘‘He’s batting unbelievably well at moment,’’ Raval said.
‘‘I was impressed with the way he started his innings today, he soaked up the pressure to give himself the chance to get in, then when he got the opportunity to score, he made most of it.
‘‘He’s very confident at the moment in his game, as we are seeing on the park. So long may it continue.’’