Bracewell stakes his Cup claim
Doug Bracewell made a case with the bat on Saturday night that he may yet be an all-round option for the World Cup.
Bracewell has played the first two ODIs for New Zealand against India as part of the bowling attack but still likely sits behind Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson and Matt Henry in the selection race for this year’s biggest tournament.
He’s also desperately needed to make an impact with the bat to to be considered in the all-rounder mix along with the likes of seamer-batsmen Jimmy Neesham, Colin de Grandhomme and Corey Anderson.
Despite batting at No 8, Bracewell got his opportunity courtesy of a misfiring top-order in Mount Maunganui and took his chance to hammer 57 off 46 balls in a lost cause for the Black Caps.
‘‘On a personal note, pretty happy to get a few away,’’ Bracewell said.
‘‘It does the confidence a world of good whenever you get a few runs and contribute that way.’’
It’s still hard to imagine he’d be elevated to No 7, if either Mitchell Santner or Colin de Grandhomme are playing but the 28-year-old is hopeful of more opportunities.
‘‘It’s something I need to continue to work on to improve my own game,’’ said Bracewell, who prior to last night’s assault – three sixes and five fours – had managed only 86 runs in 10 innings near the bottom of the order.
‘‘If that’s batting a bit higher for the team, I’ll hopefully be able to adapt to do that.’’
Bracewell toiled hard without any luck in his 10 overs – starting as new-ball partner to Trent Boult and conceding 59 runs. He was unfortunate not to have Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan edging on in his second over and his last two overs, as India sought to up the tempo, were very good.
‘‘I wasn’t able to contribute with any wickets so it was a little bit disappointing there but thought I sort of clawed my way back a little bit towards the end.’’
However, he rightly described the team’s display in a 90-run loss which put them in a 0-2 series hole as a ‘‘pretty disappointing effort’’.
‘‘Credit to India. They played pretty well and put us under pressure the whole day.’’
‘‘We expected a step up in the intensity. I think, if we’re honest, we’ve been a little bit off in all areas. It’s two games, it’s two pretty average performances.
‘‘I think we can improve in all areas – we’re pretty hard on ourselves.
‘‘From a bowling point of view I think we need to be more consistent with the areas we hit. Playing on pretty good wickets to some of the best players in the world, you just need to be hard on yourself as a bowling unit.’’
Game three in the five-match series is at the same venue today.