5 interesting facts about Ben Sears, the New Zealand seamer set for Test debut vs Australia
Ben Sears will play his first Test match for New Zealand against Australia tomorrow (March 8). He is a right-arm medium-fast bowler, who has scalped 58 wickets in 16 first-class matches.
Sears has received an opportunity to don the Kiwi jersey after Will O'Rourke got injured. O'Rourke picked up a hamstring injury during the first Test of the series against Australia.
Before Ben Sears debuts for New Zealand, here are five things to know about the pacer.
#1 Ben Sears has already represented New Zealand in 13 T20Is
While Sears will receive his maiden Test cap tomorrow morning, he has already donned the New Zealand jersey 13 times in his career. He has turned up for the Blackcaps in 13 T20Is, scalping 16 wickets at a decent economy rate of 7.82 runs per over.
Sears made his T20I debut against Bangladesh in 2021, while his last T20I appearance came against Australia last month.
#2 Ben Sears troubled Australia with his pace in the T20I series
One of the major reasons behind Sears' inclusion in the Test playing XI is his impressive performance against Australia in the recently-concluded T20I series. He played in two T20Is against the Aussies and scalped three wickets in six overs while conceding 50 runs.
Notably, the pacer cleaned up Travis Head and also dismissed Glenn Maxwell in the second T20I, while in the third game of the series, he sent Matthew Short back to the dressing room.
#3 Ben Sears' father was a professional cricket player
Sears hails from a family of cricketers. His father, Michael Sears, also played professional cricket. Michael played 20 first-class and 13 List-A matches but never made it to the national team.
Michael was also a right-arm pace bowler. He accounted for 52 wickets in red-ball cricket, while in the white-ball format, he bagged 23 wickets at an economy rate of 4.10.
#4 Sears played U19 World Cup with Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips and Finn Allen
Sears represented New Zealand in the 2016 edition of the U19 World Cup hosted by Bangladesh. It was a forgettable campaign for New Zealand U19s as they lost to India U19s and Nepal U19s in the group stage.
Although New Zealand failed to impress in that tournament, four players from that batch – Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Finn Allen and Ben Sears — have gone on to play for the national team.
#5 Sears was a law student
Interestingly, Sears was a law student before he decided to terrify opposition batters with his pace. Back in 2020/21, Devon Conway had this to say about Sears:
“There’s a guy in our set-up Ben Sears, probably the quickest bowler in New Zealand and potentially one of the quickest in the world.”
During Wellington's practice sessions, Sears troubled Conway and Tom Blundell with his pace. It will be exciting to see how he performs on Test debut for New Zealand.