Jeet Raval admits he has a new lease on life and “the fire is still burning” for an international call-up.
In a bid to revive his game, the former Black Caps Test opener moved from Auckland to the Northern Districts ahead of last season, and now has the chance to lead his new province to their first piece of silverware in four years, when the Brave take on the Canterbury Kings in the Super Smash final on Saturday night in Hamilton.
After Raval and his wife moved on to what he noted as a great lifestyle and growing sports hub at Tauranga, the 33-year-old found the boost his career needed, at his third different national team, having also represented Central Districts for one season.
Andrew Cornaga/Photosport
Jeet Raval’s Test career came to an end during the ill-fated tour of Australia two seasons ago.
“It gave me a new pleasure,” said Raval Things.
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“I was looking to play a bit more cricket with white balls. In Auckland I was limited by opportunities because of such a strong team they had, with people like [Martin] Guptil, [Colin] monro, [Mark] Chapman, [Glenn] Phillips.
“So I was in the pecking order, and when I came out of the Black Caps side I wanted to go somewhere where I could pass on my experience and enjoy my cricket a bit more.”
And he sure did. The captaincy was not at all on the agenda, however. But when young Plunket Shield and Ford Trophy skipper Joe Carter insisted on sharing the load of T20 competition, and Dean Brownlie and Anton Devcich retired, it was “something that fell on me on it,” Raval said.
“They [coach Graeme Aldridge and assistant coach Sriram Krishnamurthy] just asked me if I would be willing to do it and I said, “Yeah, absolutely, I’d love to help guys.”
“It’s a new experience for me, but one that I certainly enjoyed.”
Martin Hunter/Photosport
The captaincy was a new experience for Jeet Raval, but he took it with confidence.
Raval’s only captaincy experience had been leading the odd NZ XI or NZ A game, but he seemed natural in mustering the troops, and his urgent calls have so often been trumps. He said management’s support, as well as the return of the Black Caps, had been invaluable, however.
“I’m just the type to throw and control traffic on the pitch, to be honest I have my whistle,” he joked.
“But I rely on these guys [the likes of Tim Southee and Mitchell Santner] for a lot of changes in bowling, and their experience around the world really helps, in different situations. I wouldn’t say I run the show, it’s a collective group effort.
“I try to ask these guys as many questions as possible. And they’ve also been fantastic because coming back to the national level sometimes it’s hard for them to pick themselves up, but the way they fit into the group and have showed what it means to be part of the group has been great.
While Raval’s campaign has been modest in numbers (175 points at 19.44 and a strike rate of 117.44, with half a century on), he has certainly shown his ability to attack the bowling, and a range of blows that many would not have been aware of. were in his kit bag, having of course been a red ball specialist for the national team.
Dave Rowland/Getty Images
Jeet Raval played an early role in the Black Caps’ path to testing World Championship glory, but he’s desperate for another crack at the top level.
“Sri [Krishnamurthy] has been phenomenal, and he kind of gave me confidence saying that sometimes your white ball game doesn’t need to change drastically from red ball cricket, it’s more of a mindset shift in terms of intent and all that,” Raval said.
“And also watching guys like Kane [Williamson] and Virat [Kohli] and Joe Root and a few other guys who don’t have the power play but still did well in the T20 format, I took a leaf out of their book and how they did their business.
As his T20 game evolves, Raval still feels these are the other two formats where he’s most likely to wear the silver fern again.
After making a decent fist of the opening Test role since his debut in 2016, he stalled until 2019 and played the last of his 24 internationals in January 2020, on the ill-fated Australia tour.
Averaging 30.07, with seven fifty-one hundred, he’s essentially the only Test player to be dropped during the Black Caps’ hugely successful run to world championship glory, for which Raval also has a winner’s medal.
But his international career is by no means a hidden memory. He wants another shot.
“Certainly I would like to play again, whether it’s the test team or the one-day team,” Raval said. “I think T20 might be a step too far for me at this current stage, but in one-day cricket I’ve done quite well domestically for the last five or six years, and also in one-day cricket of four days, I had a very good last year for ND [547 runs at 45.58 with three fifties and one century].
“As we know, the Black Caps team is in a really good space at the moment and the environment is really good, which I kind of tasted. So the fire is still burning.
“There are very good batting stocks in the country. For me, I focus on myself and score as many points as possible for ND, and hope that if the opportunity comes at the next level, I will be ready for it.
IN ONE LOOK
Men’s Super Smash Final
Northern Braves v Canterbury Kings
Seddon Park, Hamilton
Saturday, 6:50 p.m.
Courageous (from): Jeet Raval (c), Tim Seifert, Katene Clarke, Colin de Grandhomme, Henry Cooper, Joe Carter, Mitchell Santner, Scott Kuggeleijn, Tim Southee, Joe Walker, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult, Matt Fisher, Anurag Verma.
Kings (from): Cole McConchie (c), Tom Latham, Chad Bowes, Daryl Mitchell, Leo Carter, Cam Fletcher, Todd Astle, Mitch Hay, Henry Shipley, Matt Henry, Ed Nuttall, Will O’Rourke, Blake Coburn.
