Daryl Mitchell discussed his skills and playing strategies during an interview with a sports media outlet:
"I think of adaptability as a skill of mine, and it's something I pride myself on."
"It's like how Tom Latham has a lovely sweep shot and Kane Williamson has a lovely backfoot punch. It's a skill that you learn over time."
"I was naive early on in my career and thought I could play pace and spin the same way. I had the same stance, I had the same setup."
"It wasn't until I watched top players on the world stage, observing how they adjusted their setups against spin, that I realized I needed to adapt. From there, it became about incorporating those lessons into my game and finding a way to assert myself. You're always working on those little details."
"I'm tall. And playing on bouncy pitches while growing up, I've got a high back lift against pace and using that, I guess, is one of my strengths. But as a tall guy, I probably got stuck at times early on in my career, so through a little preliminary movement and just the ability to be lighter on the feet allowed me to move back and forward against spin, and that made me not get stuck. And then, obviously, the introduction of using sweeps and reverse sweeps, with my size and being able to access different lengths because of that."
"There are multiple things, I guess, you add to your game. I wanted to keep my strengths as my core things and then kept tinkering and adding little aspects on the side to help make the game easier."
"I guess because it took me so long to play for New Zealand, in many ways, it made me grateful for any opportunity I get to play for people in the country."
"That opportunity was a chance to open for my country in a World Cup, which, to me, was exciting. It's why you play the game, to play in big moments like that and try and help your country. So I wouldn't say I think about it too much in terms of making it bigger than what it is. I'm just really grateful for every opportunity that I get, whether it's opening the batting or being the finisher at number five or six. I just want to adapt and help us win games of cricket."
"I now know that if you do the work, if you keep showing up each day and try to contribute to the team, not just your own individual success, then you're going to go a long way in winning games of cricket. And then that helps you get a position and be selected for your country. It sort of - how should I put it? - flows off."
"It's about putting things in perspective and controlling the stuff you can control, and that comes with age and experience in the game that you want to do. You obviously want to succeed, you want to score hundreds every time, but it's understanding that if I can control the areas that I can control, whether that's been my preparation before the game, how I recover after games, or how I go about the middle, adapting to different situations with my partner down the other end, then that's the stuff that I can control. And I'll judge myself on that. And hopefully, it means I'm going to have more good days than bad."
