Mitchell Santner is heading away for his first major tournament as captain. Photo / Photosport
Mitchell Santner is heading away for his first major tournament as captain. Photo / Photosport
Mitchell Santner has worn the black cap at seven world tournaments but the eighth comes with a key difference: “A bit more pressure.”
The recently installed New Zealand white-ball captain smiled after delivering that answer, and Santner’s perpetually serene on-field appearance would suggest any additional fretting was minimal.
Yet there is no denying this month’s Champions Trophy in Pakistan and Dubai represents both a new step for the Black Caps and an unfamiliar challenge for Santner.
The 32-year-old’s previous trips to major events – four T20 World Cups, two ODI World Cups, and a Champions Trophy appearance when last staged in 2017 – were all under the steady stewardship of Kane Williamson.
After the long-time captain stepped aside following last year’s frustrating T20 campaign, when New Zealand missed the semifinals of a white-ball world tournament for the first time since 2017, Santner was an easy choice to receive a promotion.
Now comes the hard part. Although, as the Black Caps flew out to Pakistan on Monday night ahead of their tournament opener against the hosts on February 19, Santner took supreme comfort from those also occupying the cabin.
“The group has made it easier for me,” he said. “We’re a really settled group and I don’t think too much changes.
“I’ve got plenty of guys who have been there, done that, and know what to expect in these tournaments – the likes of Kane and Tommy Latham can help me out as well.
“We just want it to be an enjoyable time. I think we get the best out of the guys when it’s fun and relaxed. You don’t want any added pressure on these games.”
In a different environment, pressure would be difficult to avoid. While the White Ferns last year added a T20 World Cup to the ODI World Cup they claimed in 2000, the Black Caps have to look back to that same year for their sole contribution to the limited-overs trophy cabinet.
Santner, unlike some teammates, can recall the Chris Cairns-inspired triumph over India to win what was then known as the Knockout Trophy. Now leading the mission to get their hands back on that piece of silverware, he hopes the consistency generally displayed by Black Caps teams at world events can finally produce a drought-breaking result.
“As a kid, you just want to play for New Zealand, but to captain is a huge honour,” Santner said. “I remember seeing some highlights of that [2000 final] when I was eight – it’s the only trophy we’ve got, but we’ve been close a few times.
“Over the last few years we’ve been playing a lot of good white-ball cricket, so it’s about building on those experiences in major events and banking those. We’ve got a few younger faces here but we’ve got a good mix of experience.”
It will likely be an experienced and settled XI, with questions remaining in one opening role and the No 7 spot. The former may be answered in a warm-up tri-series against Pakistan and South Africa, where Will Young can seize a chance while Devon Conway is occupied by the SA20, while the latter will be decided much closer to the toss.
Mitchell Santner celebrates a runout against Sri Lanka. Photo / Photosport
“We like to stick to the same team once we’ve picked it, but it’s likely very condition-dependent,” Santner said. “Karachi (v Pakistan) could play a lot differently to Rawalpindi (v Bangladesh) and again in Dubai (v India).
“If you’re happy with your XI, you want them to be out there and performing for all three games, but we’re open to changes depending on conditions.
“If there is a bit of turn, we’ve got [Michael] Bracewell seven, I can go eight. And we’ve seen when we have played four seamers, it’s vice versa with Nathan Smith coming in.
“We have options, which is great for our squad. We’ve got raw pace, we’ve got spin options and we’ve got the allrounders as well, so we’re reasonably happy.”
If the Black Caps return home even happier, the tournament’s abridged format will surely have played a role. With only three matches before the semifinals, sustained brilliance is unnecessary to be crowned champions – as shown by the two ODI tournaments’ histories.
This event has been staged eight times since its inception in 1998 and produced seven different champions; over the same timeframe at the World Cup, only India and England (once each) have wrestled away the title from Australia.
“Over a long tournament, I think the best team does come out on top, like in World Cups where you play every team once,” Santner said. “In these short tournaments, we’ve seen guys get on a roll and you can use that momentum and take it forward.
“It’s who turns up on the day, and if you outplay your opponent you move on pretty quickly to another opponent in different conditions again. So it’s going to be a challenge, but the group we’ve got, we’ve been together for a little while now.
“We’ve got a mix of guys who have been there and done that in major events, so I think we’re in a good spot.”
Kris Shannon has been a sports journalist since 2011 and covers a variety of codes for the Herald. Reporting on Grant Elliott’s six at Eden Park in 2015 was a career highlight.
