Mitchell in test debut at home
Call on Ferguson or Henry this morning after inspection of Seddon Park pitch
Daryl Mitchell will make his test debut against England — but Lockie Ferguson will have to wait until this morning to know if he’ll join him.
The Black Caps yesterday confirmed Mitchell will replace Colin de Grandhomme in the New Zealand side for the second test at Hamilton’s Seddon Park, after de Grandhomme was ruled out with an abdominal tear.
He could be joined in making his test cricket debut by Ferguson, but a decision on which fast bowler will replace the also-injured Trent Boult will be made this morning, with either Ferguson or Matt Henry to start.
Somewhat of a surprise call-up to the test squad, Mitchell will slot in as a like-for-like replacement for de Grandhomme as a seam bowling allrounder, with the Hamiltonian to make his debut on his home ground.
The 28-year-old averages 35.6 with the bat in first class cricket, and 33.5 with the ball, having taken 61 first class wickets with his medium-pace offerings — although he is a different style of bowler than de Grandhomme, generating less swing, but more bounce.
Mitchell has international experience, having played nine Twenty20s for the Black Caps, and batsman Ross Taylor is looking forward to seeing how he will fare in the longest format.
“Exciting times for him — obviously Colin de Grandhomme has some big shoes to fill but he’s had some experience at Twenty20 level and has had a very good campaign around the first class scene so looking forward to seeing how he goes.”
The Black Caps are waiting until they can view the wicket this morning before making their other selection call — wanting to see whether the conditions will be more suited to Ferguson’s express pace, or Henry’s swing.
“We’ll make the decision [today] — the wicket is drying out, it’s changed a lot since we’ve been here, so it’ll be interesting with the overhead conditions in the morning,” said Taylor.
“They’re slightly different bowlers but both have their strengths, and have big shoes to fill again with Trent, but I’m sure they’ll do well.
“Lockie has that extra pace but Henry with that new ball has been very effective. The last time we played here against South Africa he had a lot of success, but we’ll have to wait to see what we perceive the wicket to be doing and then make that call.”
Ferguson and Henry have the resume to justify being handed the new ball, and Taylor says having such depth is a strong sign.
“It’s definitely the best it’s been in my career — when I started out, when we had a guy on debut you hoped the player would do well, and I think now we expect the player to do well.
“That’s a good place to be.”
Exciting times for him — he has T20 experience so looking forward to seeing how he goes.
Ross Taylor on Daryl Mitchell