Stuff Digital Edition

Online

Black Caps batsman says the regret will live with him for some time, after punching his bat and missing the T20 World Cup final with injury. Mark Geenty reports.

right hand after he was stumped for 46, thinking he’d blown the ultimately successful run chase against England in the semifinal.

‘‘I was devastated when I got the X-ray results that I’d broken my fifth metacarpal and it was going to put me out for 6-8 weeks, [which was] the initial diagnosis. The toughest part was to explain to Gary Stead and Kane Williamson and the rest of the team that, unfortunately, through a moment of silliness I’d broken my hand,’’ Conway tells Stuff.

‘‘That was one of the toughest things to accept, to tell them: ‘I feel like I’ve let myself down and let the team down’, and let the country and my family down, for that matter.’’

Conway, who turned 30 in July, a month after his incredible doublecentury on test debut at Lord’s, was grateful for his team-mates’ support.

‘‘Once I expressed that emotion to the guys they really did get around me, which was the best thing for me at the time.

‘‘The fact that they said ‘it was a bit of a freak accident, there’s no way you would have ever thought punching your bat like that would have broken your hand and put you out of the World Cup. These things do happen, we still back you and you’re still part of the team’.’’

Conway did whatever he could to support his team-mates, helping Tim Seifert with wicketkeeping drills and fetching balls for the bowlers, in the leadup to the decider which they lost to Australia.

Then as the test squad flew to India, Conway was on a plane home still pained, but insistent on learning his lesson.

‘‘When you get into that state of high emotion you want to take a split second to think about what you’re going to do, so you don’t have regrets in the future. Unfortunately that’s going to be a regret that I’ll have to live with for a long time, and I’ve got to take the learnings from that situation and become better for it.’’

Now, one year and one week since his international debut against West Indies at Eden Park, Conway awaits his medical appointment and a rehab programme, with an eye to that first Bangladesh test at Mount Maunganui.

December 22 was the initial date when the bone might be fully healed, which would likely give Stead the green light to include Conway, albeit with no recent match practice. After all, Conway still averages 50-plus in all three formats he’s played for the Black Caps and is a walk-up start in any XI.

Conway’s familiar with preparing for top-level cricket after a setback. He suffered a non-displaced fracture in his left middle finger when struck on the glove while batting for Southern Brave at Lord’s in The Hundred on August 1, and went into the T20 World Cup cold.

‘‘My goal is to make it back for that first test, for sure. Ideally I’d want to make it back for that test, but I don’t want to put pressure on the recovery process to make it by that time,’’ Conway said.

‘‘I do want to make sure my hand is fully recovered, as opposed to trying to come back too soon and then it delays the process even longer ... I’ll do everything in my power to try

Go to stuff.co.nz for the latest on the second test between New Zealand and India in Mumbai.

and make it back by then.’’

Conway was encouraged by chats with his Firebirds team-mate Ollie Newton who suffered a similar break to his fifth metacarpal and was back batting in the nets within four weeks.

A return to the Basin this weekend will also spark Conway up for the big one of the home summer: the second test against South Africa on February 25. At his adopted home ground, against some old mates he grew up with like wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock, before Conway landed in the capital in September 2017 to pursue his dream of international cricket.

‘‘That would be huge. I managed to see some of the boys at the World Cup which was unreal. It was awkward in the beginning, all these guys I’ve played with and played against, seeing me for the first time in four years . . . but I received some of the most genuine congratulations from the majority of the South African players.

‘‘It was so special and made me feel like, wow. It was quite breathtaking.’’

Sport

en-nz

2021-12-04T08:00:00.0000000Z

2021-12-04T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://fairfaxmedia.pressreader.com/article/282123524793723

Stuff Limited