Seifert has mimic act down pat
Tim Seifert was living the cricketing dream, amid a fourmonth Covid bubble across three countries being coached by his idol, Brendon McCullum.
But when one day of freedom in New Zealand presented itself, in late September, there was one important task for the Black Caps
Twenty20 wicketkeeper to complete.
‘‘I got out [of managed isolation, after the Caribbean Premier League] on a Wednesday about midday and the next day at 5 o’clock I was flying out to Dubai. It was about 20 hours at home. I dropped my knee to my girlfriend which was quite exciting, then it was straight on the plane to the IPL,’’ Seifert said.
Seifert’s partner, Morgan Croasedale, accepted and the
25-year-old jetted off to the Indian Premier League where Kolkata Knight Riders coach McCullum had summoned him as injury cover.
Major life events aside, it’s now
10 weeks since Seifert played a competitive match since winning the CPL with Trinbago Knight Riders, coached by McCullum and captained by touring West Indies
T20 skipper Kieron Pollard.
His current managed isolation stint (taking in the heavily regimented IPL bubble) is near 50 days and counting, and finally ends when Seifert and his Black Caps team-mates from the IPL escape their Christchurch facility on Thursday, the day before the
Twenty20 opener against West Indies in Auckland.
‘‘I’ve definitely experienced the isolation life. But I wouldn’t change it for anything, with the opportunities I’ve had.’’
Top of that list is an extended stint ofmentoring fromMcCullum, who along with Shane Bond was recruited as a managed isolation coach for Seifert, Kane Williamson, Trent Boult, Lockie Ferguson, Mitchell Santner and Jimmy Neesham as they trained at Lincoln.
Seifert is close enough to McCullum 2.0, a busy power hitting opener and athletic wicketkeeper who drew comparisons with the former Black Caps skipper when blasting 84 off 43 balls to help beat India in Wellington on Waitangi Day, 2019.
‘‘It all started when he reached out to me saying ‘well done’ when I got that 80-odd against India, then I asked him if we could catch up.
‘‘It’s always been over the phone and catching up now and then. Obviously he’s busy so it’s been one-off trainings, so the last four months it’s been nearly every day. It’s been awesome and it’s grown as a mate as well.’’
The similarity extends to their respective wicketkeeping styles, with Seifert having tried to mimic the likes of McCullum, Adam Gilchrist, Quinton de Kock and AB de Villiers. Training footage from Lincoln was almost amirror image of the two New Zealanders, complete with the walk-up to gain more power moving into the stance.
‘‘I didn’t realise how close it actually was . . . and he was surprised how similar it was as well.’’
Said McCullum: ‘‘His game is very similar to mine. At the same age he’s ahead of where I was as a batter, and wicketkeeping he’s really improved in a short space of time. He continues to impress.’’
Strangely, Seifert opened just five times in 23 T20 international innings for New Zealand but with Colin Munro overlooked as he prepares for Australia’s Big Bash League, Seifert will partner Martin Guptill at the top on Friday in his favourite spot.