New Zealand seamer Matt Henry: 'I'd rather be effective than look like a hero'

The seamer took career-best match figures of 11-109 as the Black Caps sealed a 253-run victory on the fifth morning of the second Test, the tourists hitting back after a defeat at Lord's.

The 34-year-old has become the leader of New Zealand's bowling attack following the retirements in the last few years of Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Neil Wagner.

Since the start of 2022, Henry has taken 115 wickets in 21 Tests at an average of 19.53, with only India paceman Jasprit Bumrah taking as many at a better average (17.67).

Henry said: "I've always said I'd rather be effective than look like a hero. For me, it's actually (a question of) how do I get a job done? For us, that's to create pressure.

"We know that England like to score with a flow of runs, and how do we create pressure on something that's probably not offering as much, and what's the biggest threat? And that was (keeping) the stumps in play."

New Zealand captain Tom Latham paid tribute to his seamer for how he has kept improving over the years when not playing much in the early stages of his international career.

Henry had only taken 37 wickets at 46.27 in his first 14 Tests where the appearances was only sporadic and he would only play if there was an injury to the main fast bowlers.

Latham said: "If you look at the start of his career, the personnel that we had - with the likes of Boult, Southee, Wagner, (Colin) de Grandhomme - made it a little bit hard for Henners to squeeze into that team.

"He was someone that was always in our squad⦠but those opportunities were reasonably rare. Since he's been able to take the new ball, being the leader of the attack, he's certainly gone from strength to strength.

"He's obviously been an absolute weapon for us. He's been so consistent, so accurate, and in the game of Test cricket - when you need to do things for long periods of time - he's someone that's able to do that. Credit to him this week."

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