After breaking his finger just weeks before the T20 World Cup, Daryl Mitchell acknowledged having when he worried about his prospects, but he is confident going into New Zealand’s match against Sri Lanka at the SCG.
Prior to the tri-series between Bangladesh and Pakistan in Christchurch, Mitchell was struck while practising his hitting. After being evaluated, it was kept him in the squad despite being told he wouldn’t be fit for the second game because of the weather in Melbourne. Even if the injury isn’t fully healed, it won’t prevent him from playing.
“When you are sitting in the X-ray room and you see a fracture in your hand, you think that’s probably the World Cup done,” Mitchell told ESPNcricinfo. “But we are really lucky that where the fracture is and the specialist gave us the timeframe to be back for game two, so it’s all gone to plan and just looking forward to getting out there now.”
Mitchell led New Zealand into the final with a stunning, unbeaten 72 off 47 against England in the last T20 World Cup despite a last-minute change in strategy from New Zealand. But this year, he has made a comeback to the middle order, and that is where he will be seated at the SCG in Mark Chapman’s stead.
Although he has played most of his T20 cricket there, like Matthew Wade for Australia, his adaptability is a significant advantage if necessary. He most benefits from the range of scenarios that come with being in the middle of the pack.
According to the report of ESPNcricinfo, “That’s one of my skillets, I guess, to be adaptable to different positions,” he said. “It comes down to my personality in some ways. I’m a competitor. I just want to get stuck in whatever role I’ve been given and try to win games. Whether that means batting one, or wherever else, I’ll happily do it with a smile on my face.
“I really enjoyed opening… but this role, the [No.] 5 position, it’s never the same, which is quite a cool challenge in that there are some sticky situations you have to come into and there’s also some fun times as well.”
In the Tests against England earlier this year, Mitchell had an incredible run of form, scoring 538 runs—the greatest by a New Zealander in a three-match series—including three hundreds. Although the format and the task he will confront in the coming weeks are very different, Mitchell’s general approach to cricket is to avoid overextending himself.
“I look back [on the England series] and it’s a culmination of a long time of learning your craft,” he said. “How you want to go about things, succeeding, then going through some phases to get to that position? For me, it’s about not trying too hard. Remembering it is a game we play, and we are very lucky to be able to do it. If you keep enjoying the game, hopefully some success will come.”