From Beaver to Dreamer
The fairytale farewell script is panning out nicely. Far better than Grant Elliott expected, in fact.
Late last year, Elliott saw himself as Beaver. The Black Caps allrounder who turns 36 on Saturday, when they take on West Indies in the Wellington quarterfinal, was a Stephen Donald in waiting. Not quite hauled off a boat on a whitebaiting trip as the All Black was in 2011, but standing on the sidelines ready to step in should Kane Williamson or Ross Taylor fall over.
‘‘I geared myself mentally towards not being in the World Cup but maybe in a crunch game getting called in with an injury. That was always the dream. I didn’t think I’d make the first 15 because of the way the team was going,’’ Elliott said.
‘‘He [Donald] probably thought he’d never play at the World Cup and he got picked at the last minute and kicked the winning goal. That‘s a great story and I looked at that and thought ‘what a way to finish your career’. Awesome. Then I was looking to winding down but when you’re picked in the 15 you reassess things.’’
By now Elliott may have pulled the pin on cricket already, and moved fully into his part-time job as business development manager of Retail New Zealand, which he started in September. He turned down a place on the NZ A and Black Caps tours of United Arab Emirates in November-December to be home for the birth of his second son, Flynn, not that that was made public at the time. It seemed Elliott’s international days were over.
It all snowballed with his starring role for Wellington in their national Twenty20 title, which initially prolonged his career when they booked a spot in September’s Champions League. He reminded everyone of his value with the ball and that he could strike at 150 with the bat, rather than a tidy run a ball. His worth as a potential No 5 at the World Cup became clearer to selectors Mike Hesson and Bruce Edgar.
‘‘Batting at six in T20 you don’t really have an option. I learned a bit more versatility and if I need to I can slide into that role where you try to give it a good whack as opposed to playing that role I was accustomed to of pushing it around, then towards the end having more of a go.
‘‘I feel confident in my power
Momentumshift: game that I can strike boundaries when I need to and [coach] Jamie Siddons has been pretty good helping me get to that point over the last three years. That showed in the T20 and maybe that was the piece of the puzzle I needed.’’
There was one false start, against Sri Lanka in Christchurch in January. There was a medical issue with a family member and Elliott was wracked with nerves too. ‘‘It was an awful innings, I tried to get out four times in five balls so it wasn’t great. Baz [McCullum] said afterwards ‘get that one out of the way’. After the initial re-introduction I was away.’’
A century and world record stand with Luke Ronchi in Dunedin, and some key spells with the ball, clinched his spot in the top XI. From there it’s been a strange tournament for Elliott with the bowlers’ dominance meaning minimal involvement. There was a firstballer against Mitchell Starc, a few unexpected overs at the death against Bangladesh and then a breezy 39 off 34 balls where he struck the ball brilliantly then kicked himself for holing out. In six matches he’s faced just 128 deliveries and bowled 42.
Now he’s on the cusp of what he thought might be his starting point. Three knockout matches in eight days beckon if New Zealand are to reach their first final. Safely through Saturday, South Africa in Auckland then Australia in Melbourne loom.
Elliott refuses to look past Saturday. The next two carry huge significance, though. South Africa was where he grew up before seeking a New Zealand passport. And he’s played big matches against Australia; guiding the Black Caps to victory at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 2009 then being part of the losing side in the Champions Trophy final in South Africa later that year.
Brendon McCullum, Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor, Daniel Vettori, Tim Southee and Kyle Mills were all in that last New Zealand side to visit the MCG, when Elliott hit 61 not out to help them chase down 226.
‘‘Melbourne sticks in my mind quite vividly just because the sheer size of the stadium and you’re stuck in these rugby-type changing rooms like dungeons down below, then you hear the crowd erupt and you walk 50-70m up the ramp and you see this massive colosseum of a stadium. It can be intimidating but also a place you realise as professional cricketer you want to play at.’’