Conway set to hand his spot to Seifert
The Black Caps have a ready-made replacement for Devon Conway for the Twenty20 World Cup final – but where will he bat?
Tim Seifert is set to replace Conway as wicketkeeper and batter for New Zealand showdown against Australia in Dubai.
But the batting lineup is likely to need tinkering, after the stunning news that Conway effectively punched his way out of the final when dismissed during the semifinal victory over England in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.
‘‘We need to have a keeper so it’s likely that Tim will come into the side and then we just have to balance out the attack, and the order of what we think’s right,’’ Black Caps coach Gary Stead said yesterday.
‘‘We’re hugely disappointed for Dev.
‘‘He’s a great team man – we need to get in and around him and behind him. It’s a mistake he made that will have an impact on our team, but it’s certainly sad for us.
‘‘You’re not going to find anyone more disappointed right now than Dev is himself. He’s truly gutted.’’
Seifert had the wicketkeeping gloves for New Zealand’s tournament opener against Pakistan and batted at No 7 in his side’s five-wicket defeat.
However, he was dropped from the side that next defeated India, with speedster Adam Milne added to the playing XI while Conway was given the job of keeping while batting at No 4.
That formula has worked perfectly for the Black Caps, with four group wins on the trot getting them into the semifinals, where they got past favourites England with a late dash inspired by Jimmy Neesham and completed by Daryl Mitchell.
Seifert looked likely to share the opening bat duties with Martin Guptill for the World Cup but missed a couple of warmup matches through injury and lost that spot to the in-form Mitchell.
To switch back to pretournament plans seems to big a stretch for the selection group, particularly after Mitchell carried his bat to guide New Zealand home against England.
What’s far more likely is that Glenn Phillips will be shuffled one spot up the order to four, while Seifert might be employed at No 5 if Neesham’s immense value as a ‘finisher’ or ‘floater’ is seen as the best role for the all-rounder. The blow for the Black Caps is that Conway, in a short time, had fashioned a far more prolific and reliable T20 batting record than Seifert, while his left-handedness gave balance to the batting order. The right-handed Seifert averages 24.24 in T20I cricket, with a fine strike-rate of 132.64 – but Conway averages 50.16 at 139.35. Seifert also had a horror run in the home series against Australia in February-March, with scores of 1, 3, 4 and 19 when opening the batting – leading to him dropping
down the order in favour of Conway in the final game.
Stead said he was proud of his side’s ‘‘never-say-die attitude’’ and believes it should be on display again in the final.
‘‘It’s really exciting for this team to be in this situation again.
‘‘We’ve played some wonderful
cricket in the last four-five years. People measure that success at World Cups, so for us to be in another final is really satisfying.
‘‘They’ve [Australia] got a bunch of guys who are matchwinners and we’re going to have to make sure our scouting, our planning is right on point.’’
Conway has also been ruled out of the New Zealand side to play three T20s and two tests against India in India starting next week.
Will Young looks to be the obvious replacement for Conway as the opening partner for Tom Latham.
The 29-year-old made his test debut against the West Indies in Hamilton last December and averages 34.50 from three tests, with a top score of 82 in the first innings of New Zealand’s seriesclinching win over England at Edgbaston in Birmingham in June when batting at No 3 in place of an injured Kane Williamson.