Daryl Mitchell keeps the family globe-trotting tradition alive

John Mitchell arrived in Perth in 2006 looking for redemption. Three years ago, he had been dropped as coach of the All Blacks. His win record was 86%. Problem was he'd lost the World Cup semi-final and in New Zealand Rugby, that's something you're just not allowed to do. There were some murmurs as well. A hard-nosed man demanding hard-nosed things from other hard-nosed men in a hard-nosed sport is just about the surest recipe for controversy.

Mitchell would have envisioned his alliance with the Western Force as the start of something new. And apparently, so did his son, because travelling with his father, young Daryl picked up club cricket, almost like it was a souvenir at the gift shop, and he ran with it, moving up the levels and prompting some significant renovation at the family home.

"Obviously, he's a world-class coach and from what he's done, it's given me some amazing experiences as a kid to travel around and watch him do what he does in his sport and at the same time he's just my dad," Mitchell told ESPNcricinfo this February. "We still take each other on in the backyard and maybe some of his competitiveness passed on to me. And look, obviously very lucky to be able to go and watch the All Blacks train and do things like that but I was still just a kid trying to emulate my dad. One goal was always I guess to have… I've got his All Blacks jersey framed, his first one, up in my house here and for me to get my Test jersey next to him is something that's always been a dream and to tick that off was pretty cool."

Daryl, 32, has taken over as the globe-trotting father now. Since his debut in early 2019, he has played the third-most matches, scored the third-most runs and has the third-highest average across formats for New Zealand, which in turn has brought recognition from overseas as well. In December 2023, Chennai Super Kings acquired him for INR 14 crore (USD 1.69 million approx.) at the IPL auction - which was an increase of exactly INR 14 crore from the previous year - and as the perfect little cherry on top, it all happened on his eldest daughter's birthday.

"They're a big part of why I do what I do," Mitchell said of his two children, Addison and Lily. "There's no coincidence that once both of them were born, my career in many ways has gone the way it has. So very grateful for what they do for me and I keep trying to make them have as much fun as they can. I've been walking them to school, which is nice. And they get to travel the world, which is pretty cool. Last year alone they spent I think about four months in England and they were over for the [ODI] World Cup in India as well. So it's awesome for them to experience different cultures, although they're very young at five and three."

Everybody knows the single most glorious shot in any form of cricket is the slog. You just plant your front foot down, wind that bat up and swing like there is no tomorrow; or more accurately that you couldn't give a damn about tomorrow and all of its yucky consequences. Refine it just a little bit and you have the lofted drive. Be as good as you possibly can be with it and you might end up as the greatest T20 batter to have ever lived (permission slip necessary to call yourself a silly name that social media turns into a worldwide phenomenon included). Mitchell would sooner sprout wings and fly than rule this or any universe as its new boss but he does seem to do this one thing that Chris Gayle was quite famous for.

Politely usher the ball down the ground and into orbit.

The V in front of the wicket was the source of nearly half of Mitchell's runs in the 2023 World Cup - 249 of 552. It made him the most prolific straight-hitter in the tournament. He left Virat Kohli (226) behind. Nineteen of his sixes went sailing over mid-on and mid-off. There were 22 in all, the same as Glenn Maxwell. This is why he tempted three different franchises into a bidding war that stopped only after he became the second-most expensive New Zealand recruit in IPL auction history. He thrives in Indian conditions.

"Look, I guess you've got to stick to your strengths and try to hide your weaknesses for as long as you can to have some success," Mitchell said. "So, I'm a taller batsman, I've got a strong base and I guess for me that's something I try and use a lot along with a number of other shots. But it's always nice when you get one off the middle and it's going over the sightscreen."

Height mixed with power is disruptive, because all of a sudden, the in-between length becomes accessible. It's the sweet spot for a spin bowler - that 4-6m area on the pitch - because in trying to reach it batters can often be robbed of their balance and tricked into false shots.

Shakib Al Hasan has made a whole career out of hitting this length. He is quick through the air and rarely gives any room to free the arms. Taking him for a ride downtown requires a fair bit of work. Fortunately for Mitchell, genetics took care of most of it, and all he had to do was wield the advantages of his 6'1" frame and that's exactly what he did. He hit the first ball he ever faced in Chennai for six.

A few days later, in Dharamsala, he was taking down a world-class wristspinner, Kuldeep Yadav left nursing figures of 6-0-54-0 after he'd gone four whole ten-over spells without giving up that many. Mitchell wouldn't have come across bowlers like these back when he was developing the foundations of his batting. It is remarkable that he is such a good spin-hitter.

"I guess pace was probably my strength when I was younger, having done my last three years in high school in Perth and worked with batting coach 'Noddy' Holder who played a massive part in me being where I am now," he said. "As a Kiwi, you don't get many turning pitches at home and they're usually greener than brown, so it's about adapting to the conditions, I guess trying to practice things at the nets."

Middle-order batters, especially in T20 cricket, have to know how to start well against spin and that often boils down to good decision-making and then complete trust in whatever you've come up with. Trust that can weather failure. And outside noise. And inside noise. People say there is no room for doubt in elite sport but really taking the time to acknowledge it and having a working relationship with it might be rather more preferable than shoving it all down deep inside and letting it build up to a crescendo. This only comes with experience.

Mitchell spends most of his waking moments as part of a team that is very good at maximising ability and minimising limitation. The Black Caps have hardly had that one player who defined a generation. Sir Richard Hadlee's career coincided with Dennis Lillee's. Martin Crowe's coincided with Viv Richards'. Kane Williamson's coincided with Virat Kohli's. And yet they have still somehow been there to have a say in all the most important games. It's essentially world-beating by committee.

"We've got a culture within our group in New Zealand that we can talk to each other and just learn off each other," Mitchell said. "You've got a guy called Kane Williamson down at the other end who will go down as arguably the greatest. So we all try to pick his brain as much as we can and learn how he does stuff and it's constantly evolving.

"It took a number of years for me to learn my game in domestic cricket through some good times and some bad times, working out what kind of cricketer I wanted to be. Once I got a chance at the international level, I guess I knew how I wanted to play and what my strengths were and what my weaknesses were. I'm a competitor and I want to get stuck in and playing in that style and that way suits me as a person.

"Batting is all about being as present as you can. That's the one thing, if you can control… if you can control your emotions and stay present, and not only be happy when you hit good shots but don't be too grumpy on yourself when you play and miss. Not getting ahead of yourself and just staying level and calm. If you hit one down there, you know you've got the next ball to face and then you go again."

And now he gets to while the next two months away at something of a satellite office for New Zealand cricket in India. CSK have five Kiwis in their dressing room, including the physio, and they will be looking to Mitchell to perform a role that will require considerable nuance. The 2023 champions will be missing Devon Conway and Ambati Rayudu. Two others - Moeen Ali and Ajinkya Rahane - are not in the best form. Shivam Dube is racing against time to be fit. And MS Dhoni doesn't really bat all that much these days. There's a bit of slack that needs picking up.

"I've spoken with [Stephen] Flem[ing, the coach] about how he wants me to fit into the Chennai group," Mitchell said. "First of all, really excited to be part of that team and obviously they've been seriously successful for a number of years. To learn off the likes of Flem, MS, and a number of other world-class players is going to be really cool and for me to have three other Kiwis there - Rachin [Ravindra], Devon and [Mitchell] Santner - as well. it's going to be good fun."

The World Cup was Mitchell's biggest and most visible performance, and given the IPL auction took place a month after, recency bias was clearly a factor in his value rising well beyond a million dollars. After all, he came in asking for 1/14th of his eventual salary, knowing full well that his T20 record - an average of 31 and a strike rate of 135 - had been built largely by playing in and for New Zealand (163 of 195 matches). He's had a couple of stints in England in the Blast and the Hundred, along with a grand total of two IPL matches with Rajasthan Royals in 2022.

There's a long list of foreign players who have been stars for their sides in international cricket but duds in the league. CSK themselves lay claim to three in there - Andrew Flintoff, Ben Stokes and Mark Wood. It is not inconceivable that Mitchell might struggle to cope, especially considering he will be dealing with tired pitches in the back end of the season during peak summer in the subcontinent. Long story short, the ball is more likely to stop at the corner shop for a bite of dosa and sambar than come on to the bat, and that goes double for Chepauk. Or Delhi, for that matter, who actually began the bidding for him. Mitchell was this close to backpacking around India with his childhood hero.

"As a kid, I grew up idolising the likes of Ricky Ponting and seeing the way he played," he said. "Have had a couple of brief encounters with him when New Zealand played Australia and when he's in the commentary team and stuff like that. But no, we've all got guys who we have looked up to and I'm sure you guys are the same. At the backyard, you try to imitate them and copy them. I wish I tried to copy a couple of the fast bowlers too, but maybe I could bowl a little bit faster (laughs)."

Now Ponting, who is the Capitals' coach, is a pretty shrewd guy. He too was an IPL flop. He knows there is no guarantee of success even for established names let alone a relative unknown in franchise cricket. Still, he was willing to go up to INR 11.50 crore (USD 1.39 million approx). Whatever happens from here on, to have a person you looked up to as a youngster rate you that highly must feel incredible. It is proof that Daryl Mitchell is seen and that there is enough to see, even if he is not entirely willing to admit it himself.

"Maybe I'm just lucky that I've got good bats!"