Come in spinner for winner-takesall T20 decider
Two sets of numbers told the story in the fourth Twenty20 international between the Black Caps and Australia.
Seam bowlers bowled 19.5 overs, conceded 163 runs – 8.15 per over – and took five wickets.
Spin bowlers bowled 19 overs, conceded 97 runs – 5.1 per over – and took 10 wickets.
So roll on today’s fifth and final match at Sky Stadium, where fans will return to the stands for a series decider on a slowing surface being used for the fifth time in five days and spin – both bowling it and handling it – should be a crucial factor.
Australian captain Aaron Finch adapted to the conditions the best of anyone on Friday, seeing off Black Caps spin duo Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi then cashing in by hitting 38 off the last 14 balls of seam he faced to finish with 79 off 55 and lift his side to 156-6 from their 20 overs.
The hosts then didn’t adapt at all, crumbling to 106 all out – a total that could have been a lot worse had Kyle Jamieson not hit 30 off 18 balls at No 9 once the result was a foregone conclusion.
Finch was able to call on three spinners to turn the screws on the Black Caps – left-armer Ashton Agar, who opened the bowling, leg-spinner Adam Zampa, and offspinner Glenn Maxwell – and that leads to the biggest question Kiwi captain Kane Williamson now has to answer.
Can he find some extra overs of spin from somewhere – either by bowling some off-spin himself, by throwing the ball to offspinner Glenn Phillips, who will be eager for the opportunity if nothing else, or calling on leftarmer Mark Chapman, who hasn’t bowled in a match since February 2020 – or will he rely on his seamers bowling change-ups?
It was something Williamson and coach Gary Stead briefly discussed on Friday night – the coach said after the match that concerns about bowling off-spin to the right-handed Finch were front of mind – and something they will surely have discussed more yesterday.
Zampa, for one, was expecting the Black Caps to change tack for the decider, noting his side would likely have bowled 12 overs of spin if they hadn’t claimed all 10 New Zealand wickets.
‘‘We’ve seen Glenn Phillips warm up a little bit with the ball and we know he can bowl some offies ... we’ve got some really good matchups through the middle there with our righthanders, so I don’t know if that’s an option that they’ll use.
‘‘But we know Mark Chapman’s a decent little cricketer, a good lower-order batsman, and I think he’s bowled to us before, some left-arm orthodox, and we saw last night [with Agar and Santner] that was really successful too. ‘‘We’re envisioning a possible change, but we’ll wait and see.’’
Santner has been a consistent performer for the Black Caps in this series – to the point where he was sorely missed when he had to sit out game three with a head cold – and he was looking forward
to the challenge of a winner-takesall decider.
‘‘They adjusted very well, and we were probably a little bit slow to,’’ he said of Friday’s loss.
‘‘We now know how the surface is going to play, and it should be very similar – spinners were quite effective and cutters from the seamers, so we’ll take that into the game tomorrow.’’
The match will be followed by the third White Ferns v England
T20 game (4pm).
■ Meanwhile Washington Sundar missed out on a maiden test century and was left stranded on 96 not out as India took a massive 160-run lead in the fourth and final test against England at Ahmedabad yesterday after being dismissed for 365 on the third day.
In reply England was soon in strife on the turning pitch and last night had slumped to 81 for six, Joe Root top scoring with 30.