Ever-reliable Mitchell steps up again for Black Caps

By Kris Shannon

One key for the Black Caps, according to Daryl Mitchell, is the ability of different players to shine on different days.

His teammates by now must know that Mitchell, more regularly than most, will be the player stepping into the spotlight.

The increasingly reliable batter was once more a match-winner in the first T20 against Pakistan on Friday night, blazing four fours and four sixes in a 27-ball knock of 61.

Given his penchant for playing straight, it wasn’t particularly surprising for Mitchell to thrive while facing the short boundaries of Eden Park.

And given the way his late-blooming career continues to flourish, it will be no great shock if he again stars in Sunday night’s second match at Seddon Park.

Mitchell enjoyed an annus mirabilis in 2023, finishing the year as the fourth-highest run-scorer in ODIs — behind a trio of Indians — and being picked up for $2.7 million in the IPL auction. Across all formats, the 32-year-old recorded six of his 11 career hundreds and half of his 20 fifties, tallies that based on Friday night will further swell.

Mitchell shared a pivotal 78-run stand with Kane Williamson (57 off 42), capitalising on the fast start provided by Finn Allen (34 off 15) and laying the platform for a rapid finish applied by Mark Chapman (26 off 11).

It all added up to a total of 226-8 — the Black Caps’ fifth-highest in T20 cricket and second-best at Eden Park — that saw the hosts eventually earn a 46-run victory.

While Mitchell received player-of-the-match honours, he credited the rest of the batting order for his side’s outburst, coming from an XI featuring five specialist bowlers.

“We recognised the new ball was probably the hardest time to bat and tried to find ways to put pressure on them,” Mitchell said. “I thought the partnerships with Kane and Glenn Phillips set up the innings nicely, then Chappy and [Adam Milne] came in and did what they did.

“You have good days and bad days and certain guys will step up at different times. One thing about this group is we back everyone.

“We know T20 cricket can be a fickle game at times, and as long as guys keep taking positive options and keep trying to put bowlers under pressure, they’ll have the backing of the whole group.

“It’ll be someone else’s day the next day and we’ll keep cruising along.”

The road this year, with this five-match series followed by a three-game set against Australia, will lead to the T20 World Cup in June, where the Black Caps will search for their first crown.

But after a batting group missing a few senior players stuttered in last month’s limited-overs series against Bangladesh, Mitchell was understandably wary of reading much into one good day.

“We won’t make it bigger than what it is,” he said. “We know there’s World Cups and other things on the horizon, but we’re not going to look too far ahead. We’ll just keep doing what Kiwis do and keep showing up with a smile on our face and getting stuck in.”

The next chance will come at another venue, like Eden Park, the Black Caps have visited infrequently in recent years. The last T20 international at Seddon Park was in March 2021, when Allen was dismissed for a golden duck on debut as the hosts racked up 210-3 to thump Bangladesh.

Mitchell was unneeded that day — now, considering his escalating importance, an almost unthinkable prospect.

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission