Nicholls sets off to go where he belongs

The demigod of fluency with a commensurately sound technique, Henry Nicholls was a smash hit in the domestic circles of Canterbury. A bumper 778 runs in the 2014-15 season thwacked open the international door and the stodgy southpaw has maintained a neutral stance in top-flight cricket ever since. Few can brag of an average of just a tick under 39. Never mind 11 half-centuries and a ton in the limited-overs frenzy. Hardly earth-shattering numbers but  which were well and truly passing muster at the big stage. 

But now the light was fading thick and fast. The previous nine Tests and 13 innings had produced a harvest devoid of a single fifty. The last time Nicholls breached the 50 milestone was against Bangladesh in March 2019 at the same venue, when he had cracked a nimble 107. His was yet another tale threatening to merge with the game's countless folklores of unrealized potential. Until West Indies proved the saving grace. 

Queenstown offers breathtaking vistas with the playing pastures skirted by farmland and nestled in the foothills of the imposing mountain range, The Remarkables. Goes without saying, the tan brown alpine slopes have been aptly christened. Lake Wakatipu is a stone's throw away, emanating from where the cool gushes of wind urge sapped souls to pause, breathe, and reflect. West Indies tried their level best to focus on the task at hand but the sheer magnificence of the marvel got the better of them. Nicholls was put down thrice, a couple went begging in the cordon while forward short leg messed up once, and he made the most of the charmed life he was blessed with at the Basin Reserve. Although erected on the pillars of luck, his sixth Test century cast an aura of poise and pizzazz, bringing back memories of the Nicholls of old. 

"You just try and move on from them, same as when you hit a boundary or anything else. "It's batting, it's cricket, it's pretty fickle so you focus on what you're doing and try to make their bowlers come back for more spells.", he said of the frequent strokes of fortune he was afforded. 

Nicholls has for long remained a purist's delight who sights the cherry like a hawk and pounces on the prey the moment there's a flaw in the concoction of line and length. Hence, bisecting gaps and finding the rope is no hassle. The real challenge lies in abstaining himself from overindulgence. "The biggest thing for me was to just to try to keep to what I was doing. Not if you hit a few boundaries you feel like you could hit more. Because you just knew that if they bowled in a good area for long enough, there was a chance that they're going to take the edge, which they did throughout the day.'', Nicholls gave a sneak peek into his more vigilant thought process. 

"I was trying to leave well, make them bowl straighter. It's pleasing when you're able to do that. Certainly, at times you're tested on this sort of surface. I think the pace in the wicket amplifies that. When you get a few loose ones, you're able to score. Sometimes you're just trying to keep your tempo going as a batter.'', Nicholls expressed. 

The void left behind by expectant father Kane Williamson, who has been granted paternity leave, jazzes Nicholls' knock further into the spotlight. He not only picked an opportune juncture to strike form but also bailed New Zealand out of choppy waters after the Caribbean quicks hit the straps late in the wee hours of the morning session. From a jittery 78/3 to the warm comforts of 296/6, Nicholls was at the heart of the Kiwi riposte. 

"It's nice to contribute, I probably haven't in the last few games as much as I wanted," Nicholls told the host broadcaster after the first day's play. "I've been pretty lucky that the team and the other batters have been playing so well. But without Kane here in this game, it was important for us as a group to stand up. So that's all I was trying to focus on - just keep it pretty simple and bat for long periods. It's nice to be not out overnight and looking again into tomorrow.", he summed up. 

Australian kingpin Matthew Hayden had in his heyday addressed the plea of a batsman in the truest of tenets. ''Form is a weird thing. Till you have it you feel like you'll never lose it, and once it's gone it feels like you'll never find it.'' His mojo rediscovered, Nicholls would be yearning to make that giant leap into the world-class bracket, as soon as possible. For, only those who seek shall find. 

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