Trent Boult celebrates the wicket of Nicholas Pooran at Old Trafford. Photo / Getty Images
Trent Boult celebrates the wicket of Nicholas Pooran at Old Trafford. Photo / Getty Images
COMMENT:
New Zealand's last-gasp victory over the West Indies was far from the complete performance – our fielding showed some cracks with three chances going to ground, our opening batsmen again failed to deliver, and the execution of our bowling plans buckled under the onslaught of Chris Gayle and CarlosBrathwaite.
No one was expecting the struggling Windies (and more specifically Brathwaite) to come up with an innings like that, but that's what the World Cup is all about – one player playing out of his skin can take the game away from the opposition in a heartbeat.
Brathwaite has the potential to be destructive and when he's striking the ball as he was, pressure can swallow up any bowler and cause them to stray from their plans or execute poorly.
Trent Boult takes the catch to dismiss Carlos Brathwaite. Photo / ICC
Some questions have been asked about the Black Caps' strategy with bowling out their strike options in Trent Boult and Lockie Ferguson, and entrusting the bulk of the death overs to Henry and the so-called change-up bowlers Jimmy Neesham, Colin de Grandhomme and Mitch Santner. It's always a gamble but captain Kane Williamson clearly prefers doing as much damage as he can early to try to avoid damage later in the innings.
It won't be easy for Henry to just shrug off conceding 25 runs off an over (as he did when Brathwaite hit three sixes off his bowling in the 48th) and the selectors must be tempted to fall back on Tim Southee's vast international experience or even seeing what leg-spinner Ish Sodhi has to offer. Due to the inclement weather, we haven't really seen a dry pitch yet, but chances are we might come across one in the latter stages of the tournament and Sodhi has the ability and variation to be used as a wicket-taker, especially in those middle overs.
Carlos Brathwaite and Oshane Thomas of the West Indies react after the loss of the final wicket. Photo / Getty Images
That said, I'm a firm believer in backing your players and unless Henry feels like he's not in the right frame of mind to play at Edgbaston, I'd persist with the fast bowler who has enjoyed county success in Britain over the past year.
Having quality replacements is something not every squad can lay claim to. The All Blacks often talk about having "bench strength" and how that has become an increasingly important part of their mantra. The Black Caps are in a similarly enviable position at this World Cup - with Williamson able to call on the likes of Southee, Sodhi, Henry Nicholls and Tom Blundell at any time.
Talk about Williamson – he continues to go from strength to strength and the only concern for me is whether he can keep his prodigious batting form up for five more matches. His innings against the Windies was a blueprint for batting on a challenging surface - he started off very slowly but shifted gears and eventually caught up for an innings of 148 off 154 balls.
It's no secret that more often than not when either Williamson or Ross Taylor scores heavily, New Zealand win - and you want them to still have some big innings in them when the knockout matches come around and keep them fresh for the latter parts.
Kane Williamson hits a six on the way to his 148 against the West Indies. Photo / Photosport
Of more immediate concern, however, is the opening partnership of Martin Guptill and Colin Munro misfiring for a fourth straight time. Since that unbeaten 137-run stand in the opener against Sri Lanka, the pair have managed only 35, 0, 12, and 0 and Munro, in particular, will be under pressure to retain his spot.
Coach Gary Stead trialled Nicholls as an opener before the World Cup but I would persist with Munro and work on keeping him confident for a big innings when it counts. I would prefer to see Nicholls in the middle order if he is selected.
What the victory over the Windies has done is to practically ensure that New Zealand will be one of the last four teams standing. This allows us the freedom to experiment in our final three group matches and a bit of breathing room should results not go our way - a position ODI powerhouse and pre-tournament favourites England surprisingly don't find themselves in.
The hosts have suffered two shock defeats (to Pakistan and Sri Lanka) and will have to win at least twice against India, Australia and the Black Caps to be certain of advancing. More importantly, they've shown some serious cracks and their media - so vociferous in their predictions of World Cup glory only a week or so ago, have started turning on the team.
Colin Munro was responsible for one of the Black Caps' three dropped chances. Photo / Getty Images
Yes, the Black Caps were anything but clinical against the West Indies and there are a number of pressing issues to address before we take on the unpredictable Pakistanis.
But we continue to be on the right side of the close finishes ... and in knockout cricket, that's the only thing that matters.
