One hell of a journey will to come to an end next week, when the World Test Championship final between the Black Caps and India is done and dusted.
That is set to be New Zealand wicketkeeper BJ Watlings final test, as he has recovered from the back injury that made him a late withdrawal from the second test against England at Edgbaston last week.
He announced his impending retirement last month ahead of the tour, and while that setback was briefly cause for concern that he might not get to go out on his own terms, he indicated he was ready to play at the Ageas Bowl.
Black Caps wicketkeeper BJ Watling is set to be fit to feature in the World Test Championship final against India.
I had a training on day five of the last test and the back seemed to pull through nicely, he said on Tuesday evening in Southampton [Wednesday NZ time].
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I did a little bit of work today as well, and Im feeling reasonably good.
There’s another two days to go, and it should be all good.
Watling, 35, made his test debut for the Black Caps in 2009 as an opening batsman, but since 2012 he has been their first-choice wicketkeeper, batting down the order.
Provided he is named in the XI on Friday, he will finish with 75 test match appearances to his name, the 12th-most of any New Zealander, and he also holds the record for the most dismissals (currently 260) by a Kiwi wicketkeeper.
But as the curtain comes down on his career, the wicketkeeper-batsman who is known for his gritty occupation of the crease as much as his glove work said he wasnt sure if it would lead to any extra emotion.
I’m just looking forward to playing another test match.
It is an exciting one, and I’m certainly pretty pumped to be in the final.
I’m just going into it how I do with every other test going through the processes of trying to win a test match.
Watlings batting first came to prominence in a February 2014 draw with India, where he made 124 in partnership with then-captain Brendon McCullum, who was in the process of scoring New Zealands first triple-century.
A year later, he made an unbeaten 142 alongside Kane Williamson, who scored an unbeaten 242 as they shared in an unbroken 365-run stand that helped turn a potential loss to Sri Lanka at the Basin Reserve into a comprehensive win.
There was also an innings of 120 against England at Leeds in 2015, which helped the Black Caps record a rare away win, and his highest score, 205, in a win over England in Mount Maunganui in 2019.
Then there were his contributions during the inaugural World Test Championship cycle an unbeaten 105 against Sri Lanka in August 2019 that helped the Black Caps win in Colombo, and a vital 73 in the win over Pakistan in last years Boxing Day test at Bay Oval.
He could yet have a role to play with the bat in Southampton especially if the Black Caps go in with a bowler-heavy lineup, featuring Kyle Jamieson at No 7, which is a distinct possibility and he was glad it looked like he would be good to go.
I think as a cricketer you have the odd niggle every now and then, he said.
The back, it’s been pretty good to be fair for most of my career. There’s been a couple of instances when it’s just played up a bit, but I think you learn how to manage those types of injuries, and I’m thankful that I haven’t been majorly injured over my time.
I’ve certainly enjoyed the time I have spent with this team playing cricket for New Zealand. It’s been a hell of a journey.
Winning the World Test Championship would be the ideal way for that journey to an end, and the Black Caps have reason to be confident, having played two matches against England in the last two weeks, the second of which resulted in an emphatic win, while India have only been training amongst themselves.
Watling said the team were excited about getting stuck into the match, which begins at 9.30pm NZ time on Friday.
It’s obviously a massive opportunity to win a title, but I think what we’ve been doing leading into this, winning the games at home this summer, and then obviously winning a test series against England, it’s certainly been fantastic.
We’ll try and do our best and try to carry on the form that we’ve been playing in for a reasonably long period.