A year after they began their tour of England with the World Test Championship in sight, New Zealand return as title defenders, but it hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing for them since they were crowned champions.
When Ross Taylor clipped Mohammed Shami to the square-leg fence in Southampton last year, taking his side to a historic title, there was a general sense of finality to things. Years of hard work had come to a conclusion, and while there was so much to celebrate, it was also evident that the side would have to take a new path henceforth. BJ Watling retired with the crown, the first blow to New Zealand’s future plans. Six months later, Ross Taylor walked away as well. These weren’t surprising retirements in any way, but the transition hasn’t been easy, really.
Ranked sixth in the current World Test Championship table, New Zealand begin their tour of England with plenty to work on. Not long ago, they were the number one ranked side in the world and the first ever World Test Championship winners, amply stocked in each department. Devon Conway’s introduction was been an inspired addition, but the rest of the batting department has fallen off since, headlined by Kane Williamson’s wavering fortunes, and an elbow issue that just doesn’t seem to fix.
Williamson hasn’t played a Test since November, managing 18 & 21 in New Zealand’s unlikely draw in Kanpur, after which an elbow problem forced him out of the entirety of the New Zealand home summer. Since then, the side has scampered to figure out their batting order – Will Young and Daryl Mitchell have both been adequate without being standout, with plenty of movement in the top four. Six months after the Championship title, the side bundled for 62 all out in India; the following month, a score of 521-6 at home against Bangladesh was preceded by 169 all out, suggesting that the line-up was suffering from inconsistency. They lost away to India, and drew against Bangladesh and South Africa at home: since the WTC final, they have won one out of five games. With Williamson potentially rusty after a long lay-off – he fell for a duck in the warm-up game – and Henry Nicholls missing the series opener through injury, there doesn’t seem to be any immediate respite.
On the bowling front – their mightiest weapon for the last few years – things could get trickier going forward. Trent Boult is unlikely to feature in the first Test having only arrived from the IPL on Monday, leaving the 33-year-old Tim Southee to lead the charge with Neil Wagner for company. At 36, Wagner isn’t going to stick around for much longer, while Matt Henry, their long-standing backup quick, turns 31 this year. It leaves a question mark on New Zealand’s future plans, and the youngest quick in the core group – Kyle Jamieson – is finally seeing his magical run materialise into more realistic numbers. Since the WTC final, his bowling average stands at 29.20, a step down from his Test average of 18.72. Among the all-round options, Colin de Grandhomme’s bowling returns have dropped off somewhat, and Daryl Mitchell’s medium-pace is still untested at the Test level.
It’s definitely not all doom and gloom: the manner in which Conway took to Test cricket has been heartening to see, Ajaz Patel’s ten-wicket haul in India was no mean feat, and Tom Latham continues to be a rock up top, having smashed a 250 earlier this year. Runs are rarely too far away for Williamson and the bowling attack might still have it in them to operate together for a few more years. It could all come together but it will be some challenge for it to become as settled as the class of 2021, a year when the stars truly aligned for the Black Caps. As the old saying goes, it’s harder to stay at the top than it is to get there.
