Baby joy, T20 WC final entry make it special week for NZ’s Matt Henry

From celebrating the birth of his son back home to delivering a crucial final over in the T20 World Cup semifinal, New Zealand pace spearhead Matt Henry capped a whirlwind week of emotions as the Black Caps stormed into the title clash with a nine-wicket demolition of South Africa here.

Henry, who had returned home after New Zealand’s match against England on February 27 for the birth of his child, rejoined the squad in Kolkata just hours before the semifinal against South Africa on Wednesday.

Despite the exhausting travel, the pacer delivered when it mattered most, returning figures of 2/34, with both wickets coming in the final over to ensure the Proteas were restricted to 169 for 8, a total that New Zealand chased down with ease.

“Pretty special to be able to get home for that (child birth),” Henry said of the extraordinary week in a media interaction after their win.

“Obviously, Holly’s doing really well and Jack’s really good as well and Annabelle’s enjoying being a big sister, so it’s all good. So yeah, no, it was pretty special to be home for that.”

Getting back to India in time for the semifinal needed a gruelling travel schedule, which was complicated by global travel disruptions amid tensions in West Asia.

“Yeah, there was a lot of sleep happening on the way back, to be honest... So for me, just focusing on obviously my family to get home — that was important for me and then if it worked out that I could get home in time. I was always going home but to get back for the semifinal, it’s great to be here.”

Having played second fiddle to Trent Boult and Tim Southee, Henry now has become one of New Zealand’s best all-format bowlers in the last three years, with 179 international wickets since January 2023, which is the most by any bowler in that period and eight ahead of India’s Jasprit Bumrah. Henry barely had any preparation time for the semifinal but said he relied on experience and trust in his skills.

“We’ve had lots of cricket so I think at this point it’s trust. Obviously, if there’s rain, you can’t train either, so just going for that approach where making sure they’re mentally fresh, mentally ready and just being confident in your skills that you possess. So for me it was getting here and doing a job for the team and thankfully we did that.”

Henry had endured heartbreak last year when injury ruled him out of the Champions Trophy final, but this time he was determined not to miss out.

“No, yeah, it’s pretty special to be able to obviously reach another final... The guys are really excited but for now, it’s to enjoy this. I think the guys have been playing some really good cricket and some special innings from Finn (Allen). Just unbelievable, so enjoy that and then we can move on and get ready for what’s to come,” he said.

Despite early setbacks, South Africa threatened to post well beyond 170 with No 7 Marco Jansen smashing a fifty.

Having leaked 15 runs in the 17th over, Henry returned in the final over after a long chat with skipper Mitchell Santner. The strategy worked as he struck in successive deliveries in the final over and conceded just six runs.

“Yeah, obviously the powerplay is so important, especially here and to restrict runs and take wickets is what you’re trying to achieve and to restrict that side to that total of 169 was a brilliant job,” he said.

“I think we’d be taking that any day here at Kolkata and Eden Gardens, obviously it’s tough when you’ve got a small side like that as well to protect.

“It can be really dangerous with the power hitters, so I think we did a great job of controlling that. Also, wrestling some momentum into our batting innings, which is obviously really good as well.”

New Zealand would be back at the venue where they had lost to South Africa in the group stage, but this time, they are determined to make the most of the final in Ahmedabad.

“Yeah, obviously it’s a good wicket. Obviously, a lot of runs scored there in Ahmedabad as well, so it’s pretty exciting to be there. It’ll be a huge crowd as well. It’s just a great place to play cricket, so for us as a group we’ve been there earlier as well.” The Kiwis will take on the winner of Thursday’s semifinal between India and England, who had defeated them on a controversial boundary-count to lift the 2019 ODI World Cup title.

Are they looking for revenge should England make through, he said: “No, we don’t really look too far into those things. It’s a different format. We’re here in a different tournament with a different group as well.

“We’re just enjoying our cricket as a group and we’re looking forward to the final.”