Sodhi dreams of twin spin attack
Will we see Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner in tandem again this season?
New Zealand’s top two spin bowlers relished ideal conditions in Hamilton on Sunday night as their side lost a nail-biting one-day cricket international to South Africa off the penultimate ball.
Leg-spinner Sodhi took 1-36 and left-armer Santner 1-33 off their maximum seven overs respectively in a match shortened to 34 overs per-side by rain, but those tidy figures didn’t illustrate how much they troubled a world-class batting lineup on a wicket Proteas skipper AB de Villiers described as ‘‘ the toughest conditions I’ve ever played in’’.
But Sodhi is wary that he won’t come across a wicket like that again this summer – even in the ODI between the same teams at the same venue on March 1 – meaning the selection group may be hard pushed to stick with the spin twins.
With the wicket having to be under cover for most of the wet week preceding the game, it was fine effort to produce a deck fit for the match. When Santner opened the bowling in South Africa’s chase, there was immediate sharp spin and bounce that was prevalent throughout New Zealand’s defence of 207-7.
‘‘Hamilton’s done that for a while – it’s done it some times in domestic cricket,’’ Sodhi said.
‘‘It seemed to go a little bit more as the dew kicked in . . . some of the full ones that turned were quite unpredicted.
‘‘I think the majority of wickets in New Zealand aren’t going to do that. I guess it’s finding a balance in finding wickets and grounds that are big enough maybe to play two spinners and if the balance of the side is required to play two, then that’s sweet as well.
‘‘It’s generally a seam-friendly country, so I’ve got to keep working hard and when I get my opportunity like I did tonight, just stand up and take it. It’s just a shame I couldn’t do a bit more so we could come out on top.’’
The 24-year-old hopes he can make a persuasive case however that he’s also worthy of inclusion on grounds with short boundaries and wickets that don’t offer notable turn.
‘‘Most of my cricket on the T20 circuit in New Zealand is on small grounds, so I’ve done it a lot.
‘‘It’s more the pitch conditions – that aren’t overly conducive to spin.
‘‘So I guess the more we can get wickets up top with seam I think is crucial.
‘‘If I keep on bowling well, hopefully I can be the guy they go to on any surface, on any ground.’’
Sodhi said he was nervous leading into the first of five ODIs against the world’s top-ranked oneday team.
‘‘I hadn’t been back in the side for a while, so pretty happy with how it came out and carried on some form that I’ve had in the domestic circuit for a while.
‘‘Playing international cricket and domestic cricket is completely different.
‘‘I reminded myself of that in the field today – in the first 20 minutes I was thinking to myself ‘whoa, I’m really blowing here!’
‘‘It’s a lot more intense than what I’ve been used to for the last wee while.
‘‘It’s been quite a tough few months – kinda learning my game and how I want to take my game forward.
‘‘I’ve had some reasonable success in the domestic circuit and I got to go away and play some cricket at the Big Bash, so I got a bit of confidence from a few performances.
‘‘I’m just stoked that I could come over here and give a decent performance – gutted that we couldn’t get the result but stoked with the way that I bowled.’’
New Zealand and South Africa’s next ODI will be at Hagley Oval in Christchurch tomorrow, with game three in Wellington on Saturday.