Finn Allen: 'Bat at No.1' instruction, MLC carnage and the making of New Zealand's T20 destroyer | EXCLUSIVE

NEW DELHI: How easy is it for a middle-order batter — someone known for rescuing innings with stubborn resistance, occupying the crease, frustrating bowlers and steadily ticking the scoreboard — to suddenly be asked to open the innings in the T20 format and go all guns blazing from ball one?

Finn Allen is one of the finest examples of a batter who successfully made that transformation, reinventing himself from a middle-order player into a destructive T20 opener.




The story dates back to 2020, when the world was grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic. A 20-year-old Allen had just been introduced to his Wellington Firebirds coach Glenn Pocknall. Pocknall, known for his aggressive philosophy in the New Zealand domestic circuit, quickly took an interest in the young batter's development after Allen joined the side.

Initially, the coach watched Allen bat for a couple of matches at No.4 or No.5.

Then came the turning point.

One day, Pocknall walked into Allen’s room, skipped the usual greetings and delivered a blunt instruction and left: “Bat at No.1 tomorrow. It’s a T20 match.”

Allen responded with a brisk knock at a healthy strike rate. But for Pocknall, that was only the beginning of the experiment.

The coach had a bigger vision. He wanted Allen to become an opener — and eventually a long-term option at the top of the order for New Zealand ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup.

Under Pocknall’s guidance, Allen gradually transformed from an inconsistent middle-order batter into one of New Zealand’s most explosive opening batters in T20 cricket. Recognising his potential early in 2020, Pocknall worked closely with the youngster, helping him reshape his approach and refine his attacking game.

"Finn was 20 years old when I first came across him. We played him in a four-day match and he was batting in the middle order. He scored 50, but it was the way he went about his innings that caught my attention. He looked like he could hit the ball anywhere, played with freedom, had a lot of power and just looked in total control. A little bit rough around the edges, but in total control. I spoke to him that winter — this was in 2020 — and said I'd really love for you to come down and play for us the next season and offered him a contract. He was keen to know where he stood," Pocknall told TimesofIndia.com in an exclusive interview.

"Finn's family are all from Auckland. When we first approached him to move to Wellington and he made his debut, we flew his mum down from Auckland to be there and support him. When he eventually came down in August–September of that year, 2021, we tested his skills in high-pressure situations — net sessions, open-wicket sessions, fatiguing him and then making him bat — and we saw his true potential come out. In fact, I gave him not one or two, but many matches with different scenarios against the best bowlers, and he stood out as an opener. From there we knew he was going to be successful," the coach said.

"I knew about his potential. I told him that in T20 cricket we were keen for him to open the batting. He was surprised, but what I'd seen in him was the ability to hit the ball hard and get into really good positions. So I knew if we nurtured him properly and supported him properly, he would be successful," he said.

The world truly saw Allen’s arrival as an opener in the semifinal against South Africa. What he did that night became history. He smashed a breathtaking 100 not out off just 33 balls — the fastest century in T20 World Cup history — and powered New Zealand into the final in a one-sided contest. From Marco Jansen to Lungi Ngidi, Kagiso Rabada and Keshav Maharaj, Allen proved to be a nightmare for both the South African pace and spin attacks in the semifinal.

ALLEN AND THE CONFIRMED OPENING SLOT

Allen further announced his arrival and cemented his place as an opener for the Black Caps ahead of the T20 World Cup when he set Major League Cricket (MLC) on fire.

Playing for the San Francisco Unicorns, Allen smashed the fastest 150 in T20 history. He produced a stunning 151 off just 52 balls in the 2025 MLC season opener, an innings that included 19 sixes and only five fours.

Batting at a strike rate of nearly 300, Allen was determined to live up to the belief his coach Glenn Pocknall had shown in him when he told the young batter: “I want you to open for New Zealand in the World Cup.”

That knock signalled the true arrival of Finn Allen as New Zealand’s destructive T20 opener — and served as a warning bell for opponents ahead of the T20 World Cup.

"Allen is really brilliant against both spin and pace, and over the last five years he has developed immensely. With exposure to the IPL, The Hundred and the MLC last year for San Francisco Unicorns, along with playing alongside some quality players in these teams, he has learned a lot from them and that has really elevated his game. MLC helped him a lot," Pocknall said.



"He's a very humble guy and he admires a lot of the other New Zealand batsmen. At the moment he's only playing T20 cricket for New Zealand, but as you can see from his skill, technique and temperament, he's got the ability to play all three formats if he wants to," he said.

"Like any batsman, he can get very nervous and doubt his skills. So the key thing we believed in as a coaching group and senior management group was giving him confidence, making sure he believed in himself and knew that he had our full backing regardless of what happened in the middle. This really helped unearth his potential and gave him the freedom to go out and play exactly the way he does without that fear of failure," Pocknall signed off.

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