Earlier in the year, the young New Zealand fast bowler, William O’Rourke made his Test debut against a South African team bereft of its key players. Despite that caveat, Rourke’s burgeoning potential was there for everyone to see.
In the second innings, he pounded the pitch hard and got one big on Ryan van Tonder and the batter was caught in the deep. In the first innings, he showcased the other part of his skill-set: The ability to blend hit-the-deck skills with a few fuller offerings to trap Neil Brand in front. That extends to how Rourke has generally bowled in the Plunket Shield over the last a couple of years. The way he dislodged Sean Solia and Simon Keene in the 2023-24 Canterbury versus Auckland encounter capulises the point.
Despite his promise, Rourke was akin to an unpolished diamond when he was initially drafted into the Canterbury set-up. Brendon Donkers, the high-performance development coach, and Dayle Hadlee, former New Zealand paceman, helped the young bowler to rectify a few aspects of his game. “When I first came over to Canterbury my action was all over the place,” he told RevSportz with a chuckle.
“Worked a lot with Dayle Hadlee and Brandon Donkers. The main thing we were trying to get was my feet alignment as I approached the crease that used to cross-over heavily all the time, which was throwing me off-balance a little bit. I couldn’t control it too much. It is just about straightening up my run-up, my momentum towards the stumps, where I want it to go, and having more stability at the crease,” he added.
Rourke seems to be a quick-learner as at the age of just 23, he has already plucked 26 wickets at an average of 19.42 in Test cricket. More importantly, he was one of the vital cogs of New Zealand’s memorable win in the Bengaluru Test against India. The tall fast bowler bagged seven wickets in that Test.
In the first innings, Rourke’s four-four and Matt Henry’s five-for were instrumental in New Zealand bundling out India for a mere 46. In the second innings, all his three scalps – Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja – came at a crucial juncture of the match. No wonder, Rourke has fond memories of those wickets in the second essay, which derailed the Indian team’s fightback.
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The jewel in the crown was probably the delivery to Rahul, where he hit the pitch hard and the ball nipped back off the seam a long way from back of a length to catch the edge. “You end up watching greats of the game like Virat (Kohli), so getting him early was very special. Also, the two wickets of Pant and KL Rahul were really special.
“Obviously, the breakthrough of Pant was crucial for us. And that wicket of KL was exactly where you wanted it to be, nicely hitting that length,” he observed. On New Zealand’s first-innings effort, he further added, “Both teams wanted to have a bat on that wicket, so both teams misread it a bit, it had nice bounce, nipping around a lot, we took wickets early and got on a roll. It was definitely special for the boys.”
New Zealand were made to earn for their victory in Bengaluru. The duo of Sarfaraz Khan and Pant stitched a sparkling stand of 177 in the second dig and for a while, it felt as if India were on the verge of charting a mind-numbing comeback. During the course of that stand, there was a rain break, which perhaps allowed New Zealand to regroup. When play resumed, they bounced back in style with the second new ball.
“We sort of knew that it was more difficult (to bat) with the new ball, we just wanted to be positive. Obviously, they were batting really well. That was a tough period for us. After taking the second new ball, we backed ourselves to do what we do, we were slightly lucky to pick up a couple wickets, and then got through them pretty quickly,” Rourke said.
The fast bowler also shared his views on bowling to India’s dynamic batter Pant. “It is a massive challenge, very unorthodox, it is not what you’re used to doing, he has different (scoring) areas, he is a very aggressive batter. As a bowler, he puts the pressure back on you. You just have to stick to your processes, some days he is going to get away from you, as you saw much of the series, he scored runs, a very tough guy to bowl to,” he noted.
That victory at the Chinnaswamy also proved to be the foundation stone for New Zealand’s epoch-making 3-0 clean-sweep of a side that had a 12-year-winning-streak over 18 Test rubbers at home. As one of the younger members of the set-up, how does it feel to be a part of such a colossal achievement? “I talked to the guys who have been before, who have been on the other end of all those defeats, it is very exciting. We got together, went over to our team hotel, just went around as a team and celebrated what was a very, very special achievement for us.”
Interestingly, India wasn’t his first taste of Test cricket in Asia. Just a couple of months ago, Rourke had also bagged a five-for in the Galle Test in Sri Lanka. The salient feature of his spell was the inswinging yorker that went late to rattle the timber of Pathum Nissanka.
Somewhere it again indicated that Rourke’s bowling wasn’t just about pounding the deck hard, but he can also go fuller in length and look for swing. “It was my first time in the subcontinent, came here knowing that it would be tough for us. But I walked up the first game, there was good pace and bounce. I was lucky enough to bowl an excellent yorker first up, after that I settled into a bit of rhythm, and bowled quite well.
Behind the scenes, Rourke has had to put in the hard yards to fine-tune the art of swing bowling. “I tried to bowl the outswing for a little bit, still trying to work on it here and there. I think it naturally came with my wrist, I found it easier to bowl the inswinger, the way I let the ball go hard, and my wrist position naturally came more towards the inswinger,” he pointed out.
There is a lot more to explore about Rourke’s life than just his cricketing accomplishments. He was born in Surrey, United Kingdom. At the age of five, his parents returned home to New Zealand. Patrick O’Rourke, his father, partook in 29 first-class matches. “Dad was an inspiration for me to get into cricket, and he played a little bit of first-class cricket himself. He always had the passion for the game and that just filtered down to me.
“I was always in the backyard, playing with my mom, dad and brother. We had that competition back in the day, that is where it all started for me. Every Sunday, you go down to the park, bowl and bat again, those days where you’re just enjoying the game. I played all my junior cricket for Cornwall Park cricket club, all my cricket growing up was in Auckland, then down to Christchurch University.”
Rourke also quips about his fast-bowling heroes: “Lucky enough that I grew up in the golden era of New Zealand cricket. You watched Shane Bond, then Tim and Trent when I was a little bit older. But my two favourites would be the South African quicks – Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel. (They) were the guys I loved watching, raw pace with great skills as well.” When Rourke brought up Morkel’s name, one could envisage certain similarities between the two tall fast bowlers.
From playing backyard cricket with his family to idolising Morkel and Steyn and making an impact in the subcontinent, Rourke has already come a long way. But it is still a fledgling career, with Rourke having represented New Zealand 10 times across formats. Undoubtedly, there is untapped potential to be harnessed. Who knows? Somewhere in the future, Rourke may branch out his game further in the other two formats and play a pivotal role in a World Cup triumph.
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