Mitchell aims for nicks as NZ bowl England

Mitchell expects – Daryl Mitchell says he remains captivated by the challenge of playing England and is relishing his place at first slip with “a few nicks” in mind. After a 3-0 whitewash four years ago despite his century in each of the first three Tests, the New Zealand batter

Four years ago, Daryl Mitchell was the sort of thorn you can’t pull out. He still ended up on the wrong side of the story.

New Zealand toured England then and were beaten 3–0 in a whitewash that helped usher in the Bazball era. Yet while England’s batsmen took the headlines, Mitchell was, by a wide margin, the series’ leading runscorer. At Lord’s he made 13 and 108. At Trent Bridge, he followed up with 190 and 62 not out. At Headingley, he struck 109 and 56. It all came from the No 5 and No 6 spots. and the pattern was even more remarkable: he became only the second visiting batsman to score a century in each of the first three Tests of a series in England.

The first had been Don Bradman.

Mitchell, who recently turned 35, looks back on that summer with real fondness, even if the outcome stings. “It’s a part of my career which. personally. I look back on with great fondness. ” he told Daily Mail Sport. “But as a group, we want to win Test matches. The exciting thing is that. heading into this trip. a number of us have got experience of touring England and understand what that brings.”.

Heading into the current tour. England are again setting the tone for the conversation — particularly after Jonny Bairstow’s form in that 3–0 series. when he knocked off successive targets of 277. 299 and 296. Mitchell won’t say much more than that about what New Zealand learned. but the lessons are clear enough in the way he frames the trip: experience of England conditions. and a mindset that values control.

He grew up with discretion baked in at home. His dad, John Mitchell, coached the All Blacks, and Mitchell has joked that he knew their latest team before any of his schoolmates, and had to learn to stay quiet.

Those quiet lessons are still part of his life now. John Mitchell is now in charge of England’s women’s team. the Red Roses. who recently added the Six Nations title to the World Cup they won on home soil last year. Since John took over in 2023. the Red Roses have won 28 out of 28. and Mitchell says he’s been following that momentum. “We talk rugby a hell of a lot, probably more than we do cricket,” he said. “It’s awesome for him to have the success he’s having.”.

For the next chapter in the men’s Test series. Mitchell is keeping his eyes fixed on Thursday’s first match at Lord’s — where he expects his dad. who lives in London. to be trying to get tickets. Mitchell’s record against England gives him something to reach for: of his 20 Test scores of 50 or more. 10 have come against England. His Test average is 43 overall, but against England it rises to just under 60.

Still, Mitchell isn’t chasing a story about his own brilliance. He’s chasing the moments that come with playing the biggest sides. Ben Stokes once developed a theory during New Zealand’s brief tour of England in early 2023 that Mitchell was “playing for red ink. ” and England’s fielders let him know what they thought. Mitchell says he loved the challenge anyway. even if it felt harsh at the time — a compliment disguised as an insult.

“I love playing the big nations and the challenge of playing some of the world’s best players,” Mitchell said. “That makes me really excited to get stuck into those moments. I’ve had some success against them in the past, and hopefully a bit more in the future. We’ll see what happens.”

His confidence isn’t only rooted in Test history. Mitchell’s ODI numbers are staggering: only one player in the history of the game has scored more than his 2,690 runs at an average higher than his 58.47, and that record holder is Virat Kohli.

When he tries to explain the difference, the answer is less about flash and more about pressure. Briefly, he sounds like he’s borrowed some of Brendon McCullum’s Bazball language. “I like to soak up moments with the bat and then find ways to put pressure back on opposition. That’s one of my skills, I think: I can adapt to different situations.”.

Now the pressure has a new target: England’s batting.

New Zealand’s attempts to put England under strain will be led by a pace attack built around three names. Matt Henry is ranked No 3 in the world. Kyle Jamieson is 6ft 8in and, after two injury-hit years, is set for his first Test since February 2024. And Will O’Rourke — Surrey-born — is coming in with pace and bounce that troubled England’s batsmen on their 2024-25 tour.

Mitchell believes the group has depth. “We’ve got some great depth in our bowling now,” he said. “WOR, as we call him, is only young (24), but he’s a serious bowler and I can’t wait to watch him use the slope at Lord’s.”

Mitchell’s relationship with O’Rourke adds a personal edge to the build-up. O’Rourke is from Mitchell’s domestic team in Canterbury in New Zealand’s South Island. and Mitchell has spent many days facing him in the nets. “It’s not much fun,” Mitchell said. “It’s not much fun, especially when he’s bringing it back into your ribs.”.

The line that sticks comes next — the kind of small, genuine detail that feels like match-day energy. “It’s an exciting place for me to be at first slip, knowing that hopefully there’s a few nicks coming my way.”

Mitchell also seems to have absorbed the post-Ashes mood back in England, where the expectation is for a pair of morale-boosting series wins against the Kiwis and Pakistan. But he frames New Zealand’s job in simpler terms: focus on preparation for the Test series itself, not the noise around it.

“We’re just worrying about preparing for a Test series,” Mitchell said. “Whether we get underestimated or not, I guess that’s for you guys to decide. We always seem to be towards the pointy end of things, and we just enjoy the process of trying to get better.”

The challenge for England — and the tension for New Zealand — is what comes if Mitchell’s record holds under the lights again. If his career record against England improves in the coming weeks. it could derail the efforts of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum to get the Test team back on track before the series has even properly begun.

For Mitchell, the next few days are about more than stats. It’s about being where the ball comes off the bat — and waiting to see whether it comes off for them at Lord’s, with the sort of sound nicks make in slips.

Daryl Mitchell New Zealand England Lord's first Test Matt Henry Kyle Jamieson Will O'Rourke Jonny Bairstow Ben Stokes Brendon McCullum Bazball Test cricket Red Roses John Mitchell