Matt Henry: The potential spearhead of New Zealand's bowling attack

Matt Henry could be the next big thing

Matthew James Henry or Matt Henry as he is fondly called, is a name which has slowly started to ring around in the cricketing circles. The New Zealand seamer who made his international debut in 2014 against India, has attracted a lot of fans with his consistent pace and accuracy. New Zealand has an exciting crop of young seamers in their squad and this man top’s the list.

• Domestic debut:
• Matt Henry made his domestic debut on the 14th of March in 2011 for Canterbury against Wellington. Despite coming on as a replacement in the 2nd innings, he was hugely impressive as he registered figures of 9-3-23-5 and led the side to victory.
• His list A debut was in the same year against Central Districts and it was equally impressive if not more. A spell of 8-1-25-4 on debut for a 20 year old seamer is very nearly a dream debut. He helped Canterbury register a 66 run victory.
• On his domestic T20 debut, he got to bowl only a single over as he ended up on the losing side against Northern Districts.
• Domestic career:
• After impressing everyone on his debut, the speedster was expected to take the world by storm in the coming years, but a back surgery in 2012 kept him away from cricket for a while and he could only play a very few games in the subsequent seasons.
• His first class stats read 90 wickets in 42 innings at an average of 25.23 with five 5-fors and best match figures of 8/93. However, his list A stats are a bit more impressive as he has scalped 83 wickets in 43 innings at an average of 24.39 with three 5-fors and best of 6/45.
• He has been with Chennai Super Kings in the IPL for 2 seasons but is yet to make his debut in the tournament.

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  Henry loves to bowl quick, straight and full

  International debut:

• Because of the back surgery, the right arm seamer had to wait until January 2014 for his ODI debut. He was called as a cover for the injured Hamish Bennett in the home series against India. Having already won the series 3-0, the Kiwis decided to hand a debut to the tall pace bowler in the 5th and final ODI at Wellington and what followed was a supreme display of pace and swing bowling as the debutant registered the 3rd best debut figures for NZ (10-1-38-4). He was unlucky not to be adjudged MoM on debut due to Ross Taylor’s sublime hundred.
• The Canterbury quick had a forgettable T20I debut against Pakistan in December 2014 at Dubai where he went wicketless and conceded 31 runs in 4 overs.
• A debut at Lord’s is a dream for any cricketer but doesn’t come true very often. Matt Henry had it realised when he walked out on the famous turf to become the 266th Test player for the Black Caps in May 2015. His 5-over opening spell was a steady one as he got rid of the England skipper Alastair Cook and the experienced Ian Bell soon. He ended the match with 6 wickets to his credit.
• International career:
• The tall paceman was very unlucky not to be picked in the final squad for the 2015 World Cup as the Kiwis opted to pick a pace battery of Boult, Southee, Milne, Mills and McClenaghan. However, an injury to Adam Milne got him called not only to the squad but straight into the playing XI for the semi-final and final. He has already taken 28 wickets in the 13 ODIs he has bowled in at an impressive average of 23.6.
• His Test and T20I careers consist of 2 matches each where he has bowled with considerable accuracy and showed a lot of promise.
• Matt Henry is just the kind of player who reflects the fearless brand of cricket New Zealand have adopted in recent times. He consistently bowls above 140 kmph, loves to bowl straight and full and has a nice high arm bowling action. With the management following the “Form is temporary, class is permanent” approach, we will get to see more and more of him. Provided that he can keep himself injury-free, he can be the spearhead of Kiwis’ cricket for years to come.