Despite Daryl Mitchell being one of the world’s best white-ball batters, there’s a risk a new role could marginalise him for the Black Caps’ Twenty20 World Cup campaign in India.
Fresh from a man-of-the-series performance in New Zealand’s One-Day International (ODI) series win over India, in the 4-1 Twenty20 series loss that followed, Mitchell was utilised in a different role.
While he’s made the ODI No 4 spot his own – averaging a sublime 55.85 from 40 innings with six of his nine centuries – the 34-year-old has found himself as the Black Caps’ “finisher” in the shortest format.
Such is the strength of New Zealand’s T20 batting unit, Mitchell has become the Black Caps’ closer, as opposed to being the fulcrum of the middle order he is in ODIs.
Instead of walking in at No 4, Mitchell spent the T20 series defeat to India at Nos 5 and 6, and hit 125 runs with a best of 39 not out, at an impressive strike rate of over 186.
Now, on the eve of the T20 World Cup, which the Black Caps begin when they face Afghanistan in Chennai on Sunday, coach Rob Walter outlined the benefits in Mitchell’s change of roles.
“He’s massively important,” he said. “We know the quality of player that he is.
“For me, he’s got that strength and power, but he reads the game well. He understands where the game’s at, it’s critically important for the back end of the innings to understand what’s required.
“There’s a chance for him to come up the order if we try to have a left-right combination. It’s fairly fluid in the five-six position.
“But you can’t buy that experience and the skillset he brings to the party.”
However, that doesn’t mean moving Mitchell down the order isn’t without risk.
While his record at No 4 in T20 Internationals features an average of 29 at a strike rate of just under 148, those numbers fall to 14.46 and 126.17 respectively when he’s down at No 6.
In part, batting at No 6 is one of the hardest roles in T20. Batters arrive at the wicket either in a crisis, having seen four of the top five dismissed early, or with a handful of overs to face.
But with a top order of Finn Allen, Tim Seifert, Rachin Ravindra and Glenn Phillips ahead of him, Walter asserts that having a player of Mitchell’s ability so far down the order is a luxury.
“You’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t,” Walter said with a touch of humour. “If he comes in later, generally it means we’re doing pretty well.
“It’ll be [about] him putting the finishing touches on what’s hopefully a good innings. If he comes in early and we’re under pressure, then who better to manage that position for us?
“If you speak to any batter, they all want to bat as high as they possibly can. We’re just managing our resources in the best way possible.
“I back every batter in our line-up, it’s not about prioritising one over the other.”
Before their final warm-up match, against the USA in Navi Mumbai, the Black Caps do appear to have a settled side.
The top and middle order for the most part picks itself, with the bowling unit to be decided by conditions. All that’s really left is to work out which of the allrounders plays, with Jimmy Neesham light on game time and Michael Bracewell coming back from injury.
“We’ve got a pretty clear idea of a best XI,” said Walter. “However, the best XI will change, there’s no doubt about that.
“Conditions will change here in India, we’re waiting to see what the Chennai pitch has to offer, there are variations in that pitch itself [and] matching up against the opposition here and there in small ways.
“We understand what our best XI looks like for the conditions in front of us. If the conditions change, so will that XI.”
Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.