Four years on from New Zealand’s previous Test tour of England, it is still hard to fathom how Daryl Mitchell ended up on the losing side. And not just any defeat, but a 3–0 whitewash, as the Bazball era was born.
Yet amid all the swashbucklers on the English side, Mitchell was, by a distance, the series’ leading runscorer. By making 13 and 108 at Lord’s, 190 and 62 not out at Trent Bridge and 109 and 56 at Headingley – all from No 5 or 6 – 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? Don Bradman. In the summer of 2022, Mitchell really was that good.
‘It’s a part of my career which, personally, I look back on with great fondness,’ he tells 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.’
Mitchell, who recently turned 35, says his side have learned some lessons from a series in which England – with Jonny Bairstow in the form of his life – knocked off successive targets of 277, 299 and 296. He doesn’t divulge more than that, but then he grew up understanding the value of discretion: his dad, John, 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.
John is now in charge of England’s women’s side, who recently added the Six Nations title to the World Cup they won on home soil last year. Since he took over in 2023, the Red Roses have won 28 out of 28, and Daryl has been following their fortunes.
Daryl Mitchell was England’s nemesis four years ago, scoring a century in all three Tests – but still ended up on the wrong side of a series whitewash
England are his favourite opponent, averaging nearly 60 in his Tests against them
Daryl’s father John, the former All Blacks coach, now leads England’s Red Roses – with a record of 28 wins from 28 and a World Cup under his belt
‘We talk rugby a hell of a lot, probably more than we do cricket,’ he says. ‘It’s awesome for him to have the success he’s having.’
Mitchell expects his dad, who lives in London, to be tapping him up for tickets for the first Test starting on Thursday at Lord’s, where he hopes to continue his run of success against his favourite opponents. Of his 20 Test scores of 50 or more, 10 have been against England. And while his overall Test average is a creditable 43, against England it rises to just under 60.
Ben Stokes developed a theory during the brief tour of New Zealand in early 2023 that Mitchell was playing for red ink, and England’s fielders let him know what they thought. It felt harsh at the time – more than anything, a compliment disguised as an insult. And it clearly didn’t trouble Mitchell.
‘I love playing the big nations and the challenge of playing some of the world’s best players,’ he says. ‘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 class is reflected by some remarkable ODI numbers. Only one player in the history of the game has scored more than Mitchell’s 2,690 runs at a higher average than his 58.47, and that’s Virat Kohli, the undisputed king of the white-ball chase.
How does he explain his success? Sounding briefly like one of Brendon McCullum’s Bazballers, he says: ‘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.’
This time, New Zealand’s attempts to put pressure on England will be boosted by a pace attack made up of Matt Henry, who is ranked No 3 in the world, the 6ft 8in Kyle Jamieson, who after two injury-hit years is set for his first Test since February 2024, and the Surrey-born Will O’Rourke, whose pace and bounce troubled England’s batsmen on their 2024-25 tour.
‘We’ve got some great depth in our bowling now,’ says Mitchell. ‘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. He’s from my domestic team in Canterbury (on New Zealand’s South Island), so I’ve spent many a day facing him in the nets. It’s not much fun, especially when he’s bringing it back into your ribs. It’s an exciting place for me to be at first slip, knowing that hopefully there’s a few nicks coming my way.’
New Zealand’s attempts to put pressure on England will be boosted by a pace attack led by Matt Henry, who is ranked No 3 in the world
Kyle Jamieson is back in red-ball action and the 6ft 8in quick is ready for his first Test match in two and a half years
‘Will O’Rourke is only young, but he’s a serious bowler and I can’t wait to watch him use the slope at Lord’s. I’ve spent many a day facing him in the nets. It’s not much fun’
Mitchell, like many of his cricketing compatriots, is not given to grand statements. And he seems to have borrowed from the McCullum lexicon when he says one of his country’s ‘main values is to be where our feet are’ (staying in the present moment).
But there is little doubt his side have quietly taken note of the post-Ashes mood in England, where the expectation is for a pair of morale-boosting series wins against the Kiwis and Pakistan. There is equally little doubt that New Zealand have grown used to being told they punch above their weight.
‘We’re just worrying about preparing for a Test series,’ he says. ‘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.’
If Mitchell improves his career record against England in the coming weeks, the attempts of Stokes and McCullum to get the Test team back on track could be derailed before it has begun.
