Notes from (north of) The Oval #8

A belated appreciation of Matt Henry, Southee's hands, Baz's pyrotechnics and Henry Nicholls' vaccination potential.

A day to remember for Matt Henry. Photo / Getty Images

Thirteen months ago, when New Zealand picked Matt Henry to replace the broken-toed Neil Wagner for the second test against Pakistan in Christchurch, his selection was not universally applauded.

Simon Doull, for one, thought it was wrong, which he articulated strongly in his role as radio commentator.

Here’s the thing: Henry was the star in a crazy day that saw New Zealand end at 115-3, 20 in front of South Africa’s first innings total of 95, but Doull was right.

At that point Henry had played 12 tests and had taken 30 wickets at more than 50 apiece. That is not a small sample size. Henry was quietly, unluckily, compiling one of the statistically worst records for any New Zealand seamer.

In a match where New Zealand’s seamers, particularly Kyle Jamieson, tucked in, Henry went no way to proving his critics wrong, taking 1-68 and 0-25.

Again, as he celebrated with his teammates, you had to wonder if it was the last time he would be seen in tests. He was approaching 30, had used his bag of tricks and it just hadn’t worked. You can count me among those who thought his time was up, though there was always a nagging thought at the back of my mind: Henry always passed the eye test.