With most of his comrades at home, basking in the glory of an Indian triumph while casting an eye towards England’s arrival, Mitchell Santner is banishing the red ball.
There are some personal stakes for what otherwise feels like an inessential interlude during a test-heavy run.
Allrounder Nathan Smith and wicketkeeper Mitch Hay will make their international debuts, spots are at stake for the Champions Trophy in Pakistan in February, and a couple of test contenders will want to maintain form before England visit.
Santner, especially, will be incentivised to regard this series more like a main event.
In his last two matches – a heavy defeat by Sri Lanka and a stunning success over India – he returned figures of 0-82 and 13-157, a particularly extreme example of his fickle test career.
There is no guarantee when he will next don the whites. Santner played one of four home tests last summer, with Glenn Phillips offering enough spin against Australia, and after England, the Black Caps’ next scheduled test series is away to Zimbabwe in July 2025.
With a white ball, however, Santner can play an increasingly prominent role.
New Zealand have been without a T20 or ODI captain since Kane Williamson stepped down from the role following a disappointing T20 World Cup campaign in the Caribbean.
That was the team’s last T20 – they’ve played only one ODI series against Bangladesh since the 2023 World Cup – which makes the current tour a maiden audition for the full-time captaincy.
Santner seems much more likely to seal that promotion than fight his side into the test side at Hagley Oval on November 28.
Of the options at home, Tom Latham hasn’t played a T20 since April 2023, Daryl Mitchell has never captained his country, and the Black Caps will be wary of assigning additional responsibility to the 24-year-old Rachin Ravindra.
Having already assumed the role for 22 T20Is and one ODI, Santner is a natural fit to lead both short-form sides at least through to the 2026 T20 World Cup.
Mitchell Santner leads the Black Caps in Sri Lanka. Photo / Photosport
That tournament will be co-hosted by Sri Lanka and Santner hopes the current tour is somewhat more successful than his last visit to the country, when across two tests one wicket was claimed at the expense of 197 runs.
“Once you read that stat, it’s not great,” Santner said with a laugh, having then returned the third-best figures by a New Zealand bowler in his next test appearance.
“I felt like the accuracy might have been lacking a touch in Sri Lanka – they’re very good at putting away bad balls and they did that throughout the tests.
“It was the first game back from a lot of white-ball cricket for me. I was trying to get into a rhythm for red-ball and felt like it wasn’t too far away in Sri Lanka.
“Going to Pune, there was probably a bit more there for us, which was nice.”
Santner’s immense workload in Pune caused a side strain that left him disappointed to miss the third test, knowing Mumbai would be similar in offering the type of pitch he never enjoyed at home.
But after celebrating another victory and farewelling most of his teammates, the allrounder has recovered for a potentially extended leadership run.
“A few of the boys felt it was probably best to go home and prepare for the test series, but this series is still very important,” he said. “It’s the start of a lot of white-ball going forward; we haven’t played much for a little while.
“We’ve got a lot of young, promising players coming through, and I think we have a pretty well-balanced squad.”
