Tough test for new talent
And then there were three.
Tom Latham, Kane Williamson and Tim Southee are set to be the only trio playing for the Black Caps in the first test against Australia who were in the XI which won the inaugural World Test Championship less than three years ago.
Today, New Zealand will face the world test champions at the Basin Reserve in Wellington, in the first game of a two-test series that few people give the locals a sniff of winning.
While Devon Conway had experienced a horror run with the bat this summer – before making a score in the T20 opener last week – his thumb injury, which ruled him out of at least the first test, is another blow to a team that has suffered its share in recent weeks.
A maiden test series win over South Africa was the bare minimum expected, once the Proteas opted to send a second-rate squad.
The fallout was heavy, however – pace bowler Kyle Jamieson suffered another stress fracture in his back, and then the man who often carried the side on his back when times were tough wasn’t wanted for the 1st XI and decided it was time to call it quits.
Without Neil Wagner, Conway and
Jamieson in the XI which will walk out at the country’s most revered test venue this morning, the Black Caps will have just the initially mentioned trio from the side which defeated India in Southampton in June 2021.
Since that victory, the Black Caps have won eight, drawn three and lost eight tests. Among those encounters have been four tests against Bangladesh, two at home against Sri Lanka and the recent two against the under-strength South Africans. Henry Nicholls will be on drinks duties as a replacement in the squad for Conway; Ross Taylor, BJ Watling and Colin de Grandhomme have retired, and Trent Boult seems unlikely to ever add to his last test for New Zealand (against England in June 2022) while playing T20 franchise cricket without a Black Caps contract.
As he did against South Africa, with three centuries in two tests, former captain Kane Williamson is likely to have to do a lot of heavy lifting for New Zealand if they are to match it with the trans-Tasman tourists.
The return of Daryl Mitchell will be a boon – he missed the second test against the Proteas and the T20 series to rest a foot problem. But given we’re witnessing the passing of ‘The Golden Generation’, added focus will come on the three players with just 11 tests between them.
Glenn Phillips, who made his test debut in Sydney at the start of 2020, appears to have the game and mindset to battle his rivals head-on. There must be some thought to elevating him to No 6, ahead of Tom Blundell.
After the wicketkeeper-batter and Mitchell performed spectacularly in partnerships in England in 2022, you could understand a reluctance to split them, but Blundell has made only 61 runs at an average of 7.63 in his last six tests.
Rachin Ravindra’s return to test cricket was marked with a double century, but Pat Cummins and co will prove far tougher with the ball than South Africa, while exciting pace bowler Will O’Rourke took a New Zealand-record-setting nine wickets on test debut in Hamilton, but will face far broader bats in Wellington.
Australia did creak at times during their home test summer, being stunning victims to a no-name West Indies side, and the experiment with Steve Smith as opener will be something the hosts will be desperate to exploit.
The inaugural world test champions lead the current standings on point percentage – an upset win at home would put them firmly in the fight with Australia and India for another final, with a vastly different lineup.