Twenty20 Cricket World Cup: Black Caps prepare to face Scotland. Video / NZC
When Daryl Mitchell called home to Christchurch to talk to his wife Amy, the question on his mind was one shared by many.
"Who would have thought this would be happening?"
At a Twenty20 World Cup filled with the superstars of the world T20 circuit, New Zealand's early batting standouthas been an opener who had never opened before; a player who came into the tournament with just 15 T20 caps and whose overseas domestic T20 experience consisted of a brief appearance in the ill-fated Champions League with Northern Districts in 2014, and half a season playing for Middlesex earlier this year.
Also unfamiliar with the wickets in the UAE, Mitchell's résumé hardly looked the profile of someone ready to immediately shine at the World Cup – especially when he was thrust into a position – opener – he had never played in competitive cricket.
But so far, the decision from coach Gary Stead and captain Kane Williamson looks like a masterstroke. Two solid performances in the warm-up games convinced them to give Mitchell a shot at the top of the order, and he's repaid their faith by top-scoring against Pakistan (27 off 20 balls) and India (49 off 35).
Daryl Mitchell hits a six against India. Photo / Photosport
Mitchell has taken to international cricket with ease - it took him just two innings to score a century in ODIs, and his 73 on test debut was followed three innings later by a classy hundred.
So, when he called home, his surprise was less about performing well, and more about the unlikely nature of his role at the tournament, given opening wasn't close to his mind when he said goodbye to his wife and two children and headed on tour.
"It wasn't until those warm-up games until there was a real clear plan in place that this could be a real option," Mitchell said.
"I want to play as much as I can for New Zealand, so I jumped at the chance – I'm more than happy to try and help us win games of cricket."
Stead has been delighted by Mitchell's contributions.
"Kane and I have been talking for a while about where we fit Daryl into our side, he's got a lot of really strong attributes that we like, we love his competitiveness and the way he takes on teams," explained Stead.
"He had the good fortune of getting a couple of warm-up games where we had some injuries, and I guess we really liked what he did."
Daryl Mitchell. Photo / Photosport
Mitchell's emergence saw him preferred to usual opener Tim Seifert, who was left out of the XI to play India and now faces a struggle to regain a place in the team during the Cup.
"It was tough on Tim as he's played really well for us in the past, but we felt Daryl was the option that we wanted to go with at the top. With the form that he's in, we felt we couldn't leave him out," said Stead.
"He's made every post a winner. When you start seeing that, you believe more and more that they are made for the international scene and Daryl's proved that again. I just love the way he's got the confidence first ball to run down the wicket to the mystery spinner and try to put him off his length. That takes courage and skill to do that.
"Sometimes you have to be brave and you run with what feels right at the time – it felt right, we've given Daryl that opportunity, and he's repaid us in spades."
