Daryl Mitchell: New Zealand’s knight in shining armour
Before October 2021, Daryl Mitchell had represented his nation in five Tests, three ODIs and a handful of T20Is. The leading six-hitter in New Zealand’s domestic T20 league was about to start a life-changing period. And as always, it began with an injury.
Colin de Grandhomme was ruled out of the 2020-21 season due to an injury and Daryl Mitchell was his designated replacement. The T20 finisher soon found his way into the T20 World Cup entourage. His fortunes altered when he was asked to open the innings against Pakistan. He followed up his 27 (20) with a fluent 49 off 35 balls against India.
The clincher was then his performance against England in the T20 World Cup semi-final. Chasing 167, the Kiwis were losing wickets from one end while Mitchell was firm at the other. After an enterprising late assault from Jimmy Neesham, the opener precisely handled the chase. His 72* from 47 balls saw the Black Caps play their first-ever T20 World Cup final.
Seven months later, Mitchell once again found himself in a crisis situation versus England. The survival conditions had changed drastically. Red Dukes replaced the white Kookaburra ball. Gone were the deserts of Emirates and coloured clothing as the English summer and white flannels now occupied their place.
At Lord’s, New Zealand were bowled out for 132 in their first innings. At 59/1, England threatened to run away with the game but they fell flat on their face and escaped with a 9-run lead. New Zealand were in mortal peril at 56/4 when Mitchell found an able partner in Tom Blundell. The duo added 195 for the 5th wicket and drove the visitors to safety. Mitchell now had a Test century at Lord’s to his name.
Trent Bridge followed a similar pattern. New Zealand batting first were 169/4 on a deck that looked tailormade for batting. It was once again up to Mitchell-Blundell to salvage the cause. They added 236 runs as the visitors’ total crossed 400. Mitchell extracted every run from the track. The last man out, Mitchell’s enterprising 190 included 23 fours and 4 sixes. He was especially lethal against the left-arm spinner, Jack Leach. Three out of his four sixes and seven out of his 23 fours were against Leach.
A fantastic performance in the T20 World Cup and now the back-to-back Test centuries cap off what has been an amazing year or so for Daryl Mitchell in international cricket. It has been a remarkable story of a magnificent rise.
