Out of father’s shadow
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It’s a simple hierarchical familial structure – but it’s an unnecessary one.
Mitchell has taken a lengthy path to build his own stature.
After returning from Perth 2011 with ambitions of playing cricket for New Zealand, he took eight years to fulfil his goal.
But even that breakthrough didn’t come with a regular spot in either the test or white-ball teams.
The right-handed bat played three of the four home tests last summer with Kane Williamson sidelined and then kept his spot for the first test at Lord’s chiefly through Henry Nicholls’ calf injury.
Now, after 298 runs in his last two test innings, Mitchell feels indispensable.
So how does he fit in to the test XI when everyone is fit?
The most obvious solution is replacing the currently injured
Colin de Grandhomme as an allrounder, batting at No 6 and operating with the ball as a second or third-change mediumpacer.
Mitchell loves to bowl but does it in a different mode to de Grandhomme – he prefers to attack rather than contain, with the bouncer and yorker his wicket-taking weapons. But as he’s shown already with his batting in all formats, he’s capable of adjusting his style to suit demands.
In his early 20s, Mitchell was conscious of his hair thinning – it was a constant source of gentle ribbing from his Northern Districts teammates, with references to his father who superbly led Waikato in provincial rugby with little more on top of his bonce than some tape around the ears.
In recent years, the Canterbury middle-order bat accepted the inevitability of science and genetics and went with the shaved top and beard/moustache combo.
It was another sign of the growing selfconfidence and acceptance which transferred itself on to the cricket ground.
After his century last week at Lord’s, Mitchell was asked by commentator Mark Taylor whether his father was in the crowd watching.
It felt like a question more appropriately put to a 13-year-old than a 31-year-old.
Mitchell – who has constantly mentioned the support of his mother and grandparents when the subject of family ties have been raised regularly – kindly replied that his father was in Japan, but more importantly, noted that his wife and two daughters were present.
On day two at Trent Bridge, Mitchell was the sole focus of attention – and that’s how it should remain.