India vs New Zealand: An ideal opportunity for Luke Ronchi to prove his mettle in Tests

A clean striker of the ball and an exceptional wicketkeeper, Luke Ronchi is a versatile cricketer, capable of turning the tables in no time.

Luke Ronchi is one of those rare cricketers who has represented two countries. Born in New Zealand and raised in Australia, he had the fortune of donning both nations’ jersey. Like his identity, his batting style is rare as well. He, in fact, flaunts a devil-may-care attitude. He trusts his instincts, and the very trait of his reflects in his cricketing approach. In all the formats, his strike rate reads above 100. As he was brought up in Australia, he represented the Kangaroos first in a T20 International (T20I). However, Australia had wicketkeepers such as Brad Haddin, Tim Paine, Mathew Wade, among others at their disposal.

In 2011-12 season, he decided to move back to his birth place and sealed a contract with Wellington. He continued his stellar show, eventually earning a call-up to the New Zealand ODI team. Just before the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, Ronchi scored an unbeaten 170 off 99 balls, including 14 fours and 9 sixes. A clean striker of the ball and an exceptional wicketkeeper, Ronchi is a versatile cricketer, capable of turning the tables in no time. However, it’s the Test format he is yet to prove his mettle in.

[read-also]524015[/read-also]

In his only Test he played for New Zealand, he churned out 119 runs at a strike rate of 127.95. He smashed 14 fours and 4 sixes. The contest was against England, a quality bowling unit that boasted of James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Mark Wood. He is known for playing attack brand of cricket. In his debut Test, he stuck to his strength. He took one of the class-apart bowling unit to the cleaners, helping New Zealand draw the two-match series 1-1.

Unfortunately, he did not get a Test since. With BJ Watling already cementing his place, Ronchi’s role is that of a backup opener now. “It’s not your traditional New Zealand opener that you require over there. You need guys who can score against spin, find ways to rotate the strike and keep the game moving. Luke’s there as a backup batsman as well as a backup wicketkeeper. His ability against spin certainly makes him an option,” coach Mike Hesson told stuff.co.nz.

New Zealand feature a star-studded batting line-up: Kane Williamson, Martin Guptill, Tom Latham, Ross Taylor. In addition, wicketkeeper Watling has 42-Test experience, scoring 2,322 runs at 39.35 and taking 134 catches. Therefore, Ronchi will play in the starting XI only if either of these stalwarts get injured.

All the same, in Ronchi’s Test debut, both the wicketkeepers were given a nod. Surprisingly, Watling played as a specialist batsman, letting Ronchi keep wickets. Nonetheless, Black Caps’ batting strength has no space for a batsman of Ronchi’s calibre.

[read-also]525381[/read-also]

Be that as it may, let us not disregard the fact that the tracks are more than likely to be dust-bowls. The ball will turn square. And against the might of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Amit Mishra, the task of scoring runs will only get tougher.

To put things into perspective, India‘s spin attack contains variety: an off-spinner, slow left-arm orthodox and leg-spinner. In addition, it’s experienced and has cascaded the best of batting units in home condition.

In such situation, attack is the only defence. Ronchi, in fact, can provide exactly the same. He can fire on all cylinders and put India on the back foot. Although the chances of losing a wicket are more while attacking, it can also give a psychological advantage over the opposition.

Test cricket has changed. Rarely do we see batsmen scoring runs at a run-rate of under 3. The bats are thicker and tracks flatter these days. Batsmen don’t shy away from clearing the boundary line.

Ronchi, if in attacking mode, can dictate terms. More importantly, he is a good player of spin. If tossed up, he gets to the pitch of the ball, eliminating the turn factor. He is quick on his feet (of course, he is a wicketkeeper).

[read-also]525098[/read-also]

If not as a backup opener, it won’t harm if New Zealand play an extra batsman in Ronchi lower down the order. Williamson, like the modern-day captains, believes in horses for courses. But the focus should be on playing more spinners than pacers. Not only because the tracks would create turn, also Indian batsmen have been often seen struggling tackling spin.

All said and done, it depends on what line-up do New Zealand dish out.

Meanwhile, Ronchi scored a blistering century in New Zealand’s warm-up match against Mumbai at Feroz Shah Kotla. What commendable was that the belligerent batsmen scored a fiery 107-run knock out of the team’s total of 235. His innings was studded with 15 fours and 3 sixes. In a match that saw other Black Caps batsmen struggling to find their feet, he played his natural game and took his team out of the woods.

This is exactly what we walked through. This is the impetus Ronchi can provide, be it at the top or lower-middle order. This is attacking brand of cricket. And this is what New Zealand need if they are get the better of the rampaging Team India.

(Kaustubh S. Mayekar, a reporter at CricketCountry, played cricket at U-16 level. Like his idol Rahul Dravid, he often shadow-practises cricket shots. His Twitter handle is @kaumedy_)

About the Author