MATT HENRY

• Published date: 19 April 2024
• Publication title: Sports Tab

Lots

There was always someone ahead of Mr Patient.

But then: Trent Boult deserted us for the lucrative domestic T20 circuit. Tim Southee slipped past his use-by date. Kyle Jamieson broke down ... again. And Neil Wagner was nudged into retirement.

Henry is king now.

To be fair, the Canterbury right-armer has been one of our best bowlers for a few years.

It just took him a while to find his feet at test level.

He made his debut at Lord’s in 2015, but he played just 13 tests in six years, and his bowling average edged past 50 in 2021.

It was a record worthy of his underrated tag.

Henry was a demon at domestic level, so a breakthrough was expected. And it came against South Africa at Hagley Oval in 2022. He nabbed seven for 23.

A couple of years earlier, Henry was instrumental in the Black Caps’ run at the 2019 World...