Kiwi's Aussie connection has Mitchell feeling right at home

Daryl Mitchell may have lived in Perth for five of his formative years, but never once did he consider himself Australian.  

While the Kiwi allrounder's rise through the school and grade ranks in Western Australia included sharing the field with several future Aussie representatives in Marcus Stoinis, Marcus Harris and Andrew Tye, he jumped at the first opportunity to move back across the Tasman.

"I've always been a Kiwi," Mitchell told cricket.com.au ahead of the World Cup. "That's something I'm very proud of.  

"It was always the dream to come back and play for New Zealand at some point. Once the opportunity came about, it was definitely a no-brainer for me." 

During his three years with Hale (school cricket) and two years with Scarborough (club cricket), Mitchell also played for the Western Australia Under 19s, Under 23s and the Australian Centre of Excellence, which was part of a Futures League T20 competition.

Strong performances there led to a contract offer coming his way from his home side Northern Districts, which he gleefully accepted. 

But he had to wait until age 27 his first chance to sport the silver fern and for the next few seasons was in and out of the national team in all three formats.  

That was until the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup, where he established himself as one of New Zealand's most important players.  

Such is his importance to this current set-up, even a fractured hand two weeks out from this year's tournament didn't stop the Black Caps' brains trust from picking the 31-year-old, even though they knew he was all but certain to miss New Zealand's first match against the Aussies in Sydney.  

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The high school switch to Australia wasn't planned.  

As a teenager, Mitchell and his family moved to Western Australia in 2006 when father, John, got the position of head coach of the Western Force rugby union side.  

This was a regular thing for the Mitchells, as John's burgeoning reputation as rugby head honcho had five years earlier seen him take the reins of the revered New Zealand All Blacks.  

But a semi-final loss to Australia at the 2003 Rugby World Cup resulted in an ugly exit from the role, and seeking a fresh challenge in 2006 John took his family from New Zealand's north island to the far side of Australia to lead the Force.  

That's the life of a rugby coach's son, travelling all around the world, following the teams he coaches," Mitchell, of the Daryl variety, said.  

Enrolled in the prestigious Hale School in the Perth suburb of Wembley Downs, Mitchell befriended Stoinis, two years his elder, and the pair worked tirelessly on their cricket, making use of the school's excellent facilities.

"I consider myself very lucky to go to a school like that … they've got a proud cricketing history," Mitchell said.  

"He (Stoinis) is a really good mate of mine. He was my first XI captain at school.  

"You could tell he was going to make it from the moment you first saw him play." 

Fifteen years later, the pair would meet on the international stage for the first time in the 2021 T20 World Cup final.  

Mitchell scored 11, Stoinis wasn't required to bat and the Australian prevailed as the victor.  

But it was a tournament of success for the Kiwi.  

A solid performer in domestic cricket for a decade, Mitchell describes his move to Canterbury for the 2020-21 season as a "massive part in helping me get into this New Zealand set-up more permanently".  

And a little over 12 months later Mitchell was a massive part of the unfancied New Zealand side's run to the T20 World Cup decider. 

After being thrust up to opener in a late tactical change, a spot he had never previously batted in T20s, Mitchell posted vital contributions in wins against India (49) and more notably England (72 not out) in the semi-final to finish the tournament in tenth spot on the run-scorers list. 

He followed that up with a record-breaking Test tour of England in June (his 538 runs is the most by a Kiwi in a three-match Test series) and has cemented his position the Black Caps' XI in all three formats.  

And while unable to pinpoint precisely what has clicked, Mitchell attributes some of his success to fatherhood, with daughters Addison (nearly four) and Lily (two) proudly watching on from home.

"I'm very grateful for what's happened over the last few years on the international stage," Mitchell said.

"I don't know whether being a dad and a father of two now puts life into perspective a little bit. And maybe that's a massive reason as to why I'm really enjoying the cricket at the moment."

Now back in New Zealand's middle order, Mitchell shapes as a key to the Kiwis' success.

His 20-over stats in 2022 make for impressive reading, an average of 32.10 and a strike rate of 143.94 from 13 matches.

His 22 off 24 balls in his return match against Sri Lanka in Sydney on Saturday proved vital as New Zealand were wobbling at 3-15 when he walked in and he was able to share an 84-run partnership with centurion Glenn Phillips.

And his unbeaten 31 off 21 balls against Ireland was important to secure the Kiwis a semi finals berth.

But unfortunately for Mitchell, on this tour at least, there will be no 'homecoming' to Perth.

New Zealand weren't scheduled to play any matches in Western Australia at the World Cup and aren't scheduled to return to Australia (according to the ICC's Future Tours Program) until the 2026-27 summer.

"Yeah, that would obviously be pretty special to play over there," Mitchell said of Perth.

"I've got a lot of close friends from school over there and my sister still lives over there.

"It'd be really cool over the next five, 10 years to tick that off. Hopefully we get that opportunity."