The Nighthawk is the subversion of Test cricket’s more typical night-watchman role, but one with a more positive twist to match the blazing pace of England’s new approach under Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes.
After that, however, Broad’s role became shrouded in some mystery, one that he embellished by adding “Official NightHawk for @englandcricket” to his Instagram profile and coming to practice in a “You Have To Call Me Nighthawk” -T-shirt.
But amid the success of England’s fourth innings batting – an approach that included four successive chases of over 250 against New Zealand and India, and a further nine wicket wins against South Africa – Broad never got the chance to make his new approach. in practice. And now, having missed the Pakistan tour following the birth of his first child, it seems the mantle has been passed to the youngest member of the squad.
In that case, Rehan’s performance at No. 3 in Karachi netted just 10 runs off eight balls, but those included a lightning-fast drive for four from his first delivery. The sun may have set quickly when he reached the crease, but after an opening score of 87 in 11.3 overs between Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett there was never any doubt as to why he had been promoted.
Asked by Mike Atherton on Sky Sports what his orders were, Rehan replied: “Try to finish it tonight! [We could have done it] 100 percent. If we’d had another seven overs out there it would have been pretty easy.
His cameo ended with an agrarian hoick to leg, when Abrar Ahmed exacted revenge for driving a ball to another boundary earlier. “Yeah, I should have played straight,” Rehan added.
However, watching from the Sky Sports studio, Broad was full of praise for the venture he brought to the role.
“The definition of the Nighthawk isn’t necessarily how many runs you put on the board, it’s the style,” said Broad. “Strike rate over 100. That’s a tick. Getting out to a hack, that’s a tick. So I’m very happy with his introduction to the Nighthawk position.”
Broad added that he was sure Rehan’s instructions would have been from McCullum to go out and “try to hit your first ball for four”. However, the man himself later clarified, “No, he didn’t say anything. I said it to myself.”
NightHawk Jr. Beautiful. Couple of notable strikes. 10 discount 8. Healthy success rate. Gives us hope that tonight can be won. Towards a hack. Aborted on the score. Job done.
— Stuart Broad (@StuartBroad8) December 19, 2022
Nevertheless, Broad explained that the unconventional approach to England’s pursuit was entirely in line with McCullum’s extremely relaxed attitude to the supposed tension of a Test match situation.
“What Baz is brilliant at is picking up the momentum of the day,” added Broad. “After five wickets, [Rehan’s] emotions would have been really high. ‘Go and have a bat, go and whack it’. There’s no point in just taking off the boots and sitting down and letting the day come to an end. Go and try to win it for us today, it would have been great if it worked, but Stokesy did a good job too.”
And it was ultimately Rehan’s role with the ball that enabled his cameo with the bat, as he ripped out the heart of Pakistan’s second innings after waiting a full three hours for his introduction to the game of the day. He hit with a long jump to dislodge Babar Azam and break a menacing fourth wicket stand of 110, then produced two fine bowling pieces to add Mohammad Rizwan and Saud Shakeel in the space of 17 balls.
And after Joe Root and Mark Wood added two more breakthroughs after tea, Rehan returned to clear Mohammad Wasim and Agha Ali Salman in two more overs, before celebrating with a sadda and lead the team off the field with the game ball.
“From not bowling in the first session to five wickets is a dream come true,” he said. “I enjoyed it anyway, I loved it out there, but it was nice to get the ball after three hours.”
Andrew Miller is UK editor of ESPNcricinfo. @miller_cricket