Rachin Ravindra has backed Wellington Firebirds teammate Ben Sears to bring “a point of difference” to the Black Caps’ attack should the fast bowler make his Test debut against Australia in Christchurch.
Sears, 26, has replaced the injured Will O’Rourke in the squad for the second Test which is due to start at Hagley Oval on Friday.
Sears has played 13 T20Is since making his debut in 2021 and will be selected for New Zealand should Gary Stead choose to take four seamers into the Test as he did for the 172-run first-Test loss at the Basin Reserve.
O’Rourke strained a hamstring in the field on day three and is out for a couple of weeks at least.
Sears played well when dismissing Travis Head and Glenn Maxwell in the first T20I at Eden Park recently and Ravindra has high hopes for his friend.
“I’ve known him since we were five years old - he brings a lot of X-factor, he bowls in the 140s [km/h] consistently and brings a point of difference,” Ravindra said.
“Obviously, we’re very disappointed for big Will missing out – the way he bowled was unbelievable - but bringing in Searsy, there’s a like for like sort of vibe – big, tall fast bowlers who bowl quickly.”
Sears said today of his unexpected call-up: “I got a phone call from Gary and it was pretty surreal, I’m not going to lie. It was a bit unexpected but an awesome opportunity and I’m really excited.”
There will be intrigue about whether Stead opts for the status quo and adds Sears to a quick quartet including skipper Tim Southee, Matt Henry and Scott Kuggeleijn, plus part-time spinners Glenn Phillips and Ravindra, or whether he chooses specialist spinner Mitch Santner instead as he seeks to draw the series.
But a large part New Zealand’s focus is likely to centre on how they can better combat the offspin of Nathan Lyon, who took 10 wickets in Wellington, predictably wrapping up the Black Caps’ second innings late on the morning of the fourth day.
“You always have belief as a group and trust each other to execute our skills on the day but we also recognise they are a very good team – the world Test champions and ODI World Cup winners,” Ravindra said.
“We know it’s going to be a stiff challenge but we talked about what we learned last week and hopefully we can put together a better performance this time.
“Nathan Lyon obviously bowled brilliantly - he has 500 Test wickets for a reason – but it’s up to us to learn from what he tried to do.”
Ravindra, who followed a maiden double century against South Africa recently with four scores under 30 before a 59 in the second innings against Australia, said the Hagley Oval pitch wasn’t likely to bounce as much as the Basin’s. This may limit Lyon’s danger a little.
“It’s similar in terms of the wicket but it probably doesn’t bounce as much, in my experience. It will still have a little in it for the seamers, I imagine.
“You can overanalyse,” he said of New Zealand’s large-scale batting failures in the first Test. “As a batter, you fail more than you succeed so if you nitpick every single time you’re probably in your own head. It’s about staying level.”
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