New Zealand see all-format potential in Hay, who comes with a reputation of being a powerful hitter who is calm under pressure
Deivarayan Muthu08-Nov-2024Mitch Hay had missed the first call from New Zealand selector Sam Wells. He was preparing to step out to bat during a Canterbury intra-squad T20 game at Hagley Oval. Just before he went out, he nervously called Wells back and got to know the news of his maiden New Zealand call-up for the white-ball series in Sri Lanka, which will begin with the first T20I in Dambulla on Saturday.When Hay broke the news to his family, his mother wondered whether it had been a prank call, but his Canterbury coach, the former New Zealand batter Peter Fulton, had certainly seen it coming.”After that intra-squad game, I spoke to Mitch and I asked him if he’d had any good news recently and he sort of smiled and said: ‘oh yeah, I’ve had some good news’. I guess as a coach, always a really cool moment when, you know, players that you coach are selected for higher honours,” Fulton told ESPNcricinfo. “Having been there myself and experienced it myself, I know it’s something that most cricketers dream of from a reasonably young age.”Related
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Hay is the latest wicketkeeper-batter from New Zealand’s assembly line that keeps churning out talent though they have a limited pool. New Zealand see all-format potential in Hay. He averages 46 after 19 first-class games and strikes at just under 149 in T20 cricket.While New Zealand coach Gary Stead has backed Tom Blundell to bounce back during the home Test season after struggling against spin in India, there’s an opening for a long-term alternative in white-ball cricket, with Devon Conway and Finn Allen both knocking back their New Zealand central contracts.Hay has been considered the next cab off the rank, thanks to his wide repertoire of shots ranging from the thump down the ground to the scoop in the other ‘V’. In June this year, he also came down to Chennai, along with Tim Robinson and Dean Foxcroft, to hone his sweep shot during a camp at the Super Kings Academy.”I wouldn’t say I’m a natural sweeper but having the exposure here is a great opportunity to learn and try to learn from the coaches,” Hay said while in Chennai. “Sri [Sriram Krishnamurthy, the former Wellington and New Zealand A coach] has been amazing with his knowledge of conditions in both India and New Zealand. So it’s been a good challenge to learn some different shots and different strategies on wickets that spin a lot more than at home. We’ve been lucky to be looked after here by the CSK academy in Chennai.”Hay had played some punchy innings in the middle order in the 2023-24 Super Smash for Canterbury, scoring 170 runs in ten innings at a strike rate of 165.04. Twenty-two batters faced more than 100 balls in that tournament and among them only Robinson (187.42), an opener, had a better strike rate than Hay. Fulton delivered a glowing appraisal of Hay’s attacking abilities and even called him a 360-degree player.”He’s got a lot of power and can strike the ball hard down the ground,” Fulton said. “He’s a good player square of the wicket, and he’s also got the ability to play the scoop shot. So I guess he can score 360 degrees around the ground. So yeah, he’s got all the attributes to bat in that position [in the middle order].ESPNcricinfo Ltd”I think probably the other thing that he’s got, he’s pretty calm under pressure. And again, if you’re going to bat in that No. 5 or No. 6 position in T20, then quite often you’re going to be in towards the end of the innings when the game gets tight. He’s got all the attributes and I’m sure he’s going to do well for New Zealand as well.”Hay had demonstrated that power during his unbeaten 73 off 31 balls batting first against Northern Districts in Christchurch and then during his 38 off 28 balls while chasing against a strong Wellington attack, which included internationals like Adam Milne, Ben Sears, Logan van Beek and Rachin Ravindra, in the Eliminator in Hamilton.”I suppose, from a selection point of view, those are the innings and pressure games, which sort of twisted the selector’s arms and they couldn’t ignore him for too much longer,” Fulton said. “It’s just been great to see him develop over the last sort of three or four years while he’s been in our set-up.”The slow pitches in Sri Lanka and their slower bowlers – Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana in particular – could seriously challenge Hay in his first international tour, but he could fall back on his experience of playing spin on the red- and black-soil pitches in Chennai earlier this year.”The biggest takeaway for me against spin is trying to get low because the bounce can be variable,” Hay said. “We’ve also been trying to use the crease, as Sri alluded to a lot of Indian batsmen are good at that – playing deep but also coming out on the front foot to get really close to the ball. For me, it’s about staying low and when the length is there, get into a strong position on the back foot to manoeuvre the ball. In New Zealand, you can potentially stand up and hit through the line easier.”Tim Robinson, Mitch Hay and Dean Foxcroft at the Super Kings Academy earlier this year•Super Kings AcademyHay is used to keeping wicket against fast bowlers, like most New Zealand keepers, but has been working behind the scenes to improve against spin. “Part of the reason why we wanted him to go to Chennai was also to become a better keeper against spin,” Fulton said. “He’s also done a lot of keeping work with Freddie Anderson, the former Canterbury keeper who is now a specialist wicketkeeping coach. I think he’s improved his work standing up to the spinners and, again, it’ll be a good test for how much work he has done keeping in Sri Lanka as well.”Fulton also believes that Hay has the tools to play as a specialist batter for New Zealand in the future across formats. At one point, Fulton even contemplated having Hay open the batting for Canterbury, but after Cam Fletcher moved to Auckland, he decided to keep Hay in the middle order.”When Mitch first made his debut for Canterbury, it was actually as a batsman,” Fulton said. “Because we had Cameron Fletcher playing for Canterbury at that stage, who obviously is another really talented wicketkeeper-batsman, so, I guess Mitch’s entry into the side was as a batsman.”And, to be honest, if Cameron Fletcher hadn’t moved back to Auckland last season, then Mitch was probably going to be our opening batsman in red-ball cricket. So that, I guess, gives you an understanding of his technique as a batter. I’ll be surprised if in the next couple of years – whether it’s as a wicketkeeper or as a batsman – if he’s not really close to that red-ball side for New Zealand as well.”For that to happen, Mitch will want to make hay in the Sri Lankan sun in white-ball cricket.
