Henry bats off world’s best tag
Pace man winks when asked if NZ have the best bowlers at World Cup
WINKS cannot be quoted. Matt Henry knows that. It is the ICC mixed media zone where you have two players talk slightly less formally to the press than in the official press conference. There is no video camera on either.
Henry is asked if he feels New Zealand have the best attack at the Cricket World Cup — not a popular opinion, admittedly — in the tournament. They have the best average (22 per wicket), the best strike rate (28.9 balls for a wicket) and the best economy rate (4.56 per over) in this World Cup after all. “Well,” says Henry. “Imagine that,” said in all caps.
And then he leaves it alone. “I think obviously every ground we will be faced with different challenges,” he says. “It is about making sure we adapt to every surface we play on. I think every game has been a little bit different, and we have had to attack a little bit differently.”
“Hey Matt, but you didn’t answer the question,” Henry is told.
And then he winks, and looks away to another journalist. Make of that what you will.
These numbers have to be put in context first of all. New Zealand are aware of that. Their match against India was washed out without even the toss, and they are yet to play England and Australia. Or West Indies for that matter. That happens at 12.30am tomorrow (NZT). They bullied Sri Lanka on a fresh surface, and they have had two surfaces — against Bangladesh
and South Africa — where they could bowl into the wicket and use cutters.
New Zealand will obviously not want to make tall claims before they have actually been tested properly. Yet, if there were to be a debate around the best attack in this tournament, you can’t totally write them off. In Trent Boult, they have a left-arm quick who will extract every last bit of swing or seam movement available. Henry himself can do that but also bowl into the pitch if required.
Lockie Ferguson is among the four or five fastest bowlers in the tournament with the ability to bowl accurate bouncers and yorkers. Mitchell Santner is not the wristspinner-style wicket-taker you ideally want, but Ferguson has teamed up well with his miserliness by taking more wickets in the middle overs than anyone else.
Equally importantly they have two fifth-bowler options in Colin de Grandhomme and Jimmy
Neesham. At a pinch Kane Williamson can bowl.
Pose the question now to Gary Stead, the coach, and he makes the point about helpful conditions first.
“I think there are some great bowling attacks in a lot of different teams,” he says.
“South Africa themselves have a very good bowling attack as well. Whether we are the best, I don’t know.
“We have played on wickets that have probably haven’t been really high-scoring all the time.
“The ones that we have been on to date, they have probably been even slower than what we have expected.
“The most pleasing thing from my perspective is we have adapted to it. And I mean that augurs well. There are a lot of good conversations going on.”
Ask Stead to rate the attack in isolation, though, and he is happy to talk them up.
“I rate our attack very highly,” he says. “I guess I selected them to come here. I mean Ish [Sodhi] was considered strongly as well [for the game against South Africa].
“What went against him this game was that we still felt it was just a touch soft on the top. Maybe the seam movement was going to be effective. So and Tim’s [Southee] back to full fitness and bowling well in the nets but it’s been hard as the guys have stood up do far. That’s what we can ask of them.”
And by no means is Stead satisfied yet. “It was not perfect by any means.” All that was missing was his wink.