Melbourne: Matt Henry was celebrating a cousin’s engagement when he was summoned to play at the World Cup and the New Zealand fast bowler admitted he is still pinching himself.
The 23-year-old was called into the squad when Adam Milne was forced to withdraw with a heel injury and he was pitched straight into Tuesday’s dramatic semi-final win over South Africa.
“It’s pretty hard to believe, you’ve got to pinch yourself,” said Henry as he prepared to play in front of 90,000 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Sunday’s final.
“It’s an unbelievable opportunity to have. It’s unfortunate for Adam, it’s not the situation you want to be in but it’s the nature of the beast.”
Henry, who had been playing first class cricket with Canterbury in front of a handful of fans last week, vowed not to be overawed by the challenge in Sunday’s final where the Black Caps will face co-hosts Australia.
“To go from a Plunkett Shield game with not too many people being about, to everyone screaming your name at Eden Park (the Auckland venue for Tuesday’s semi-final) was a bit of a contrast,” said Henry, who has never played at the MCG.
“It felt like 90,000 at Eden Park. We’ve got plenty of Kiwis here, I’m sure it won’t be an issue.
“It’s about focussing on your processes. You’re playing cricket. Nothing changes.”
Henry praised the influence of skipper Brendon McCullum both on and off the field. “As Brendon keeps reiterating, this is the best time of our lives, it’s not to be daunted and to be scared of,” he said.
“It’s a time to enjoy, embrace and soak up. We’re all excited, it’s great to be here with such a great bunch of people.”
Henry said he wasn’t planning to watch Australia play India in Thursday’s others semi-final, preferring instead to tour Melbourne’s stores with his girlfriend.
“I’ve got a bit of shopping to do,” he said. “We’ll all be doing our things, but we’ll sit down together at one point.”
Former Australia opening batsman Matthew Hayden, meanwhile, said that New Zealand will struggle with the size of the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in World Cup final.
“There were a number of times on Tuesday where the New Zealand batsmen appeared to be hitting big balls but they’d be getting caught three quarters of the way to the fence at MCG,” Hayden was quoted as saying by The New Zealand Herald.
New Zealand has a number of big hitters in their squad, especially in the top. While captain Brendon McCullum has hit 17 sixes in the tournament, opener Martin Guptill Guptill has hit 15, including the two biggest sixes of the tournament.
The MCG has averaged just under five sixes a match during the tournament while a record 30 were struck in the quarter-final at the Wellington Regional Stadium and 16 on Tuesday at Eden Park, Auckland.
“They’re going to have to change the way they hit the ball. Let’s be honest, the size of Eden Park is ridiculous. It shouldn’t be a cricket ground. If you can half throw it from the long off boundary to the opposite end it’s too small,” the 43-year-old said.
