Henry Nicholls

A fidgety-yet-compact batsman hailing from New Zealand, who has played all three formats, Henry Micheal Nicholls, is a left-handed wicket-keeper batsman, and a fluent stroke maker, blessed with a sound technique that abides him time to play both spin and pace quite well. 

Nicholls represents the Canterbury side in the State Championship and other domestic competitions. He made his First-Class debut back in November 2011 in a four-day match against Otago. 

However, the southpaw’s breakthrough year came during the 2014-15 domestic season. The fluent stroke maker scored 454 runs at an average of 75.66 in his breakthrough year that got him his maiden New Zealand-A assignment, which was soon followed by a national side call-up. 

The gritty batsman made his international debut in an ODI against Sri Lanka at Christchurch, in December 2015. Later that year, he was added to New Zealand's squad for the World T20 as a backup wicketkeeper to Luke Ronchi and got his first T20I cap in the ICC event, held in India. In 2016, he played his maiden Test against Australia at Wellington and scored a half-century on debut. 

After Brendon McCullum’s retirement, the Blackcaps struggled to find another opener for the 50-overs format and a solid middle order in the longest format. Nicholls emerged as a troubleshooter for his side whenever they were in a spot of bother. 

During the 2019 World Cup, he replaced an out-of-form Colin Munro and played one of his best knocks of his career in the final of the global event, at the Lord’s Cricket Ground. He made a crucial 55 in tough batting conditions that almost won the World Cup for New Zealand.

In 2020, when India toured New Zealand, Nicholls once again got the opportunity to prove himself as an opener in the ODI format and stamped his class by thumping the Indian bowling. In the 2020-21 season of the Ford Trophy, he scored centuries in the final and semi-final, guiding his side to the 15th One-Day title.

Now, with age and talent being on his side, it won’t be surprising if he becomes the mainstay of New Zealand batting in the coming years.

(As of March 2021)