New Zealand’s Matt Henry in action during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup match between New Zealand and the Netherlands.
| Photo Credit: Giri KVS

New Zealand has gotten out of the blocks strongly with three straight wins in the World Cup so far, with various individuals stepping up in different situations.

While there have been some standout performers — Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra scored tons, Mitchell Santner got a five-wicket haul — one person who has quietly flown under the radar, much like how his team operates at global ICC events, is Matt Henry.

“It’s been a fantastic four years for most of us to get here to India, and it’s been a great start for us. But we also recognise that this is a long tournament with a lot of work ahead of us,” said Henry, who leads the bowling charts with eight wickets.

Known for his ability to swing the new ball — his three top-order wickets against India in the 2019 semifinal derailed the chase — the 31-year-old has also been effective during the middle-overs in the first three matches in this edition.

Against England, Henry kept things tight with the new ball and gave the first breakthrough before accounting for Jos Buttler with a wobbled seam in his second spell when the English skipper threatened to get a big one.

Similarly, he accounted for the well-set Mushfiqur Rahim in the last game against Bangladesh while he cleaned up the tail against The Netherlands.

On the challenge of making things happen during the second PowerPlay when there is not much lateral movement, and the ball becomes old, Henry said, “That’s why you have to use your lengths wisely, and I believe Shane Jurgensen (bowling coach) has been brilliant with our bowling group by ensuring that we are well-prepared and have options to try to exploit different areas of different batters.”

“It is sometimes necessary to be more defensive in order to attack. Controlling the run rate and applying pressure is sometimes essential. The key is to be accurate in India. You need to bowl your right lines and lengths because any width gets hurt quickly,” he added.