NZ v SL - Jacob Duffy took advantage of regular opportunities to make 'real, match-winning contributions'

jacob duffyHis international career has been one of stop-start. Since making his T20I debut in December 2020, he has largely been on the bench, with Tim Southee ahead of him in the pecking order. Till 2023, he did not play more than four T20 matches in a calendar year. But in 2024, he was given more chances, and this helped him find his rhythm and ultimately make “real and match-winning contributions”.

“I think it’s good to be able to contribute for the New Zealand team,” he said after the third T20 match against Sri Lanka. “I’ve been doing little things here and there for some time now, without making any real, match-winning contributions. To have that kind of impact on a game and a series is pretty special and hopefully there’s more to come. “

Duffy played seven T20 matches in 2024, the last two of which came in wins in the home series against Sri Lanka, which ended 2–1 in New Zealand’s favor after Sri Lanka secured a consolation win on Thursday. He took seven wickets in those two wins which earned him the player-of-the-series award.

Duffy made his mark on the international stage by taking four wickets on debutBut since then he had managed to take only seven wickets in 13 T20Is before the start of this series.

In first game At Mount Maunganui, when Sri Lanka were chasing a target of 173, Duffy changed the momentum with a triple-wicket over that included the dismissal of Kusal Perera and Kamindu Mendis for a duck. It was a blow from which Sri Lanka could not recover, leaving the visitors trailing by eight runs.

In second gameDuffy removed both of Sri Lanka’s top scorers – Perera and Pathum Nissanka – to help them bowl out 141 and seal a 45-run win, while also recording career-best figures of 4 for 15.

Duffy will now look to continue his form in the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka, and with Southee retiring from international cricket, he hopes to cement his position in New Zealand’s white-ball teams.

“I think in my role, I feel like I’m sitting behind Tim [Southee] For a really long time, you might get a game or two here and you get momentum, not ease, at international level,” Duffy said.

“So to get a full series and go out and perform and start feeling a little bit more at home, it’s a big kind of mental positivity for me. So hopefully more ODI series come and I can get more international Will remain hungry for cricket.”

Source link