Tom Latham insists the door is still only half open for Ajaz Patel, even with Bay Oval expected to turn and New Zealand’s pace stocks thinned by injury.
Since debuting in 2018 the left-arm spinner has played just three home Tests and, almost unbelievably, is yet to claim a Test wicket on Kiwi soil. All 85 of his Test wickets – part of 400 in first-class cricket – have come overseas. Mitchell Santner’s broken thumb and a queue of injured quicks have earned him a recall for Thursday’s series decider against West Indies, five years after his last home appearance. A starting place, though, is not locked in.
“You guys probably speak about it more than what we do,” Latham said when reminded of Ajaz’s wicketless record at home. “Ajaz has performed beautifully in overseas conditions and he hasn’t had a lot of opportunities here in New Zealand due to the surfaces that we play on.
“I think with us having all-rounders as well in the group that do bowl spin, it has made his opportunity hard here in New Zealand, from just a strength in our batting point of view. I’m sure if he gets that opportunity he will do everything he can to take a wicket but more importantly do his role for the team as best he can.”
The captain’s caution is under-standable. Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips and Michael Bracewell each offer useful spin without weakening the batting-order, and in the last Bay Oval Test their collective nine wickets complemented Neil Brand’s six-for – evidence that part-timers and specialists can both profit once the pitch slows.
Traditionally, Mount Maunganui starts with a light green sheen, rewarding seam early before flattening. By days three and four the surface grips, bringing spin back into play. Ajaz’s appeal, Latham suggested, lies in his capacity to cope with that shift.
“I think it’s probably his experience, really,” he said. “I saw the other day that he brought up 400 first-class wickets, which obviously shows he’s got a huge amount of experience and probably knows his game better than probably anyone else.
“He has been extremely successful for Central Districts doing what he does in terms of being able to apply pressure, tie an end up, and when the opportunity presents itself, and when a spinner becomes a little bit more attacking, he knows how to bowl in those conditions that are favourable to him.”
Why, then, have New Zealand so rarely fielded two frontline spinners at home? Latham offered a familiar answer: horses for courses. Seam, height and movement remain the Black Caps’ preferred currency on green pitches, while their batters fancy the job of neutralising touring slow bowlers. The all-rounders give balance without compromising that template.
“For us, it’s always been about working together [with the groundstaff] and for them being able to come up with the best cricket wicket that…” Latham began, before drifting into the usual talk of “good contests” and “fair surfaces”.
Selection, as ever, is a jigsaw. If New Zealand want an extra batter who bowls, Ajaz may wait again. If they back the surface to break up, a specialist spinner looks logical. Either way, Patel’s return to the squad hints at a slight shift in thinking – or at least at necessity.
The 35-year-old has stayed patient, banking overs for Central Districts and trusting that first-class haul to keep him in the selectors’ minds. Now he is back in the dressing-room, watching Bay Oval darken under the Tauranga sun, hoping this is finally the week he swaps a spectator’s cap for a Test cap that gathers dust all too easily at home.
