Will Somerville join list of one-test wonders?
All Will Somerville wants for Christmas is a second chance. In his favour, he’s been extremely good, so Santa could treat the off-spinner well – a turning wicket in Hamilton may be at the top of Somerville’s list. But patience may need to be another virtue for New Zealand’s most unlikely test cricket star.
When you make your test debut aged 34, patience is clearly something he has in abundance – yet there’s a limit that may be severely tested this summer.
Confirmation came on Monday that Somerville wasn’t wanted for the first home test of the summer, starting against Sri Lanka at the Basin Reserve on Saturday.
With just one recognised spinner required for the Black Caps in Wellington, first test hero Ajaz Patel got the nod.
With that selection, there looms the possibility that Somerville may not play another test for at least a year. Or, in the worst-case scenario, he becomes this era’s Rodney Redmond (see below).
Somerville – a late tour call-up to replace injured legspinner/ batsman Todd Astle – had match figures of 7-127 against Pakistan as he helped sway the deciding match of the three-test series in the UAE in New Zealand’s favour.
But coach Gary Stead and selector Gavin Larsen wanted to stay loyal with first-choice Patel, who took 7-123 in the first test win and had series stats of 13 wickets at 29.61. ‘‘Ajaz certainly grabbed his opportunity on the UAE tour and he’s a proven performer in New Zealand conditions,’’ Larsen said.
‘‘Will Somerville was an obvious stand-out on debut in the Abu Dhabi decider and it’s great to know we’ve got quality spin bowlers who can create competition for places.’’
The problem for Somerville is manifold, however.
While the UAE is a haven for spinners, New Zealand – ironically – is a barren wasteland.
In 34 home tests since 2010, the Black Caps have fielded two specialist spinners in the same Will Somerville took seven wickets on his test debut - but when will he play again for New Zealand? test just four times – twice in 2010 and twice in March 2017, when Mitchell Santner and Jeetan Patel teamed up against South Africa.
So the chances of a dual-spin attack in the five home tests this summer – two against Sri Lanka, three versus Bangladesh – are minimal.
Yet should such a choice occur, there’s no guarantee Somerville will be one of the two picked.
His display in Abu Dhabi did push him past leggie Ish Sodhi – chosen for the first two tests – in the spin standings. But Santner and Astle are on the road to recovery from injury and both should be available for selection against Bangladesh in March.
Selection policy for the national side has been loyal this decade, and Santner and Astle will likely be looked upon kindly if they find form in domestic cricket. Stead and Larsen will ponder what that duo may have been able to achieve in favourable conditions against Pakistan.
Once the home test season is over, the one-day World Cup dictates the international calendar – a test series in Australia in December 2019 seems a long way away; especially for a 34-year-old.
For those not familiar with Redmond – he made his debut as an opener for New Zealand in February 1973 against Pakistan at Eden Park.
He wasn’t a first-choice selection – John Parker was injured and Terry Jarvis had been dropped. But he made the most of his call-up, blazing a maiden test ton of 107 in the first innings. His century came up off only 110 balls – virtually unheard of during that era – and featured 20 fours.
He made 56 in the second innings but when he toured England later that year in NZ’s next test series, a combination of eye problems, middling form and the return of Parker to partner Glenn Turner, left the left-hander sidelined, and he never played tests again. His career ended two seasons later after becoming just the second test cricketer – after Andy Ganteaume of the West Indies in 1948 – to score a ton in his only test. Somerville may yet avoid a similar fate – but it’s not out of the question.