Colin Munro, New Zealand batsman, World Cup 2019 Player Full Profile: Munro promises explosive starts but needs consistency

Colin Munro has been statistically one of the best international opening batsman in T20 cricket, but in one day cricket he’s been one of the worst. The dichotomy is hard to fathom, especially in the light of his remarkable first-class figures. He has been frequently dismissed when set, often playing one shot too many, despite being on top of the bowlers. The fact that it feels like he’s throwing his wicket away probably frustrates fans the most. However, he has demonstrated an ability to dominate good attacks in T20 cricket. He plays the switch hit well and his orthodox pull shot can be absolutely brutal. He is also strong down the ground. If the Blackcaps’ coaching team is able to figure out how to get him to perform in one day cricket like he does in T20 internationals, he could set New Zealand up for some very big totals. A comment from Gary Stead at the end of the Bangladesh ODI series that they were not very concerned about the way that he was getting out, because they know what they had been asking him to work on suggests that he might get to play as more than just a back up. Another string to Munro’s bow is that he is also an effective medium pace bowler, with the lack of height from his short stature and ability to take the pace off the ball making him particularly useful on slow pitches, where the batsmen struggle to get him away. He also enjoys bowling bouncers to the New Zealand batsmen in the nets, and has hit quite a few of them, but is yet to try that approach in a match situation. For all the latest news, opinions and analysis from ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, click here