It isn’t the first time a young quick has risen within New Zealand cricket. However, the rise of Matt Henry into the Blackcaps test squad has been far quicker than most expected and rather unique.
Due to a prolonged back injury that plagued the early part of his career, Henry almost didn’t play for New Zealand at all after undergoing major back surgery in 2012. Thankfully it took just two years for the young Canterbury fast bowler to bounce back.
At just 23 years old, Henry burst on the scene at the beginning of 2014 when he represented New Zealand against India. Called up as an injury replacement should he be needed, Henry was cut a break when Hamish Bennett was unable to play. He went on to register the third-best figures for a New Zealand debutant in ODIs, claiming four wickets in the Kiwis’ pursuit of 4-0 hammering of their Indian opponents.
Hovering around the 140 km/h mark, Henry had proved multiple times over that a call-up to the national squad was always on the cards for him thanks to five five-wicket hauls in first-class cricket for Canterbury in New Zealand’s domestic season. As fate would have it, it was the injury of fellow quick bowler Adam Milne that gave Henry his biggest break.
When Milne was struck by a heel injury in the run-up to New Zealand’s semi-final World Cup game against South Africa earlier this year (a game they went on to win), it came as no surprise that Coach Mike Hesson sought a like-for-like replacement outside his initially selected squad, considering the options he had at the time had not seen much cricket action of late.
Being thrust into a fairly high pressured situation so quickly would be a test for anyone, but it was an opportunity Henry refused not to take. While he was unable to pick up any wickets against the Proteas, his contribution to the team in terms of his bowling was both noticeable and praised by his coaching staff and team-mates alike. He did have far more success in the final against Australia and despite New Zealand eventually losing to their Tasman rivals, Henry was able to contribute with bowling figures of 2/46.
It was impossible to deny that Henry had done more than enough to be counted each and every time, at least in the limited overs format. As the case is so often though, whether he would be able to translate these performances to test cricket was another story.
Thankfully, New Zealand didn’t make us wait too long to find out when they released their squads for their current tour to England with Henry being included in both the test and the ODI/T20 lists. Henry made his test debut on May 21st at the home of cricket, Lord’s, after beating Doug Bracewell and Neil Wagner to the highly coveted third seam option in the starting XI.
On debut he recorded bowling figures of 4/93 and 2/106 respectively, with England captain Alastair Cook appropriately being his first sculp. Despite being on the slightly expensive side, Henry was able to justify his selection and showed not only that he fit in well with the bowling arrangements already set, but was versatile enough to take the new ball should it be thrown his way.
Young, quick and hugely talented, Matt Henry fits the mould of bowlers we have become accustomed to within the New Zealand squad. With a bowling technique that closely mirrors former pace bowler and bowling coach, Shane Bond, Henry has a long and illustrious career ahead of him.
