With Tom Blundell being called up to the Blackcaps Test squad to face West Indies, we were graced with some clarity around the wicket-keeping pecking order in Aotearoa. This selection came at the same time as Tim Seifert went XXL with 167* for Northern Districts in their win over Otago, as well as Dane Cleaver (CD), Ben Horne (Auckland) and Cameron Fletcher (Canterbury) all chipping in with some runs as well. While their was clarity offered around the Blackcaps pecking order, let's not pretend that Blundell is head and shoulders above Seifert, Cleaver and to a lesser extent Horne and Fletcher.

Clarity and clutter at the same time.

Of course, I'm not overly fussed with who the Blackcaps select and the domestic cricket battle between these lads is far more intriguing. I do have to say that there's literally no way for me to judge which of these lads is actually the better wicket-keeper as NZC do a terrible job in terms of highlights and game footage (their Youtube channel hasn't had a new video in nine months), plus wicket-keeping stats don't really related to the wicket-keeper. I saw some joker on one of the mainstream media sites highlighting the number of catches a wicket-keeper had as some sort of gauge about the quality of the wicket-keeper, completely neglecting the fact that the number of catches for a wicket-keeper depends on the bowlers.

Given the performances of Hamish Bennett and Logan van Beek this season, it would make a lot of sense for Blundell to have more catches than the other wicket-keepers, right? If the bowlers have taken the most wickets, the wicket-keeper's probably taken the most catches - I don't actually know for sure, that's a completely logical conclusion to make though.

All these lads must be decent wicket-keepers if they are and have been playing consistent domestic cricket. Even then, it's not so much their wicket-keeping that intrigues me as they have shown that they should simply be viewed as batsmen; Seifert, Cleaver and Fletcher are in the top-10 Plunket Shield run-scorers and Horne is 17th.

That means that those four lads have scored more runs that Chad Bowes, Cole McConchie, Daniel Flynn, Will Young and Michael Bracewell (similar number of innings). They average more than those certified batsmen, while also averaging more than Brad Wilson, Michael Guptill-Bunce. This means that if any of them couldn't spend a day behind the stumps, you'd probably still pick them in the team just to bat.

Seifert is the leader, 4th in runs and averaging 47.22. Last week's century was his first of the season and his only other 50+ score came in the first game, however in between he put up three 40+ scores, giving him five 40+ scores in 10 innings. Even when BJ Watling played for ND, Seifert had to be selected and we are dealing with a 22-year-old who currently averages 37.30 in First-Class cricket after 28 games.

The truly glorious spice comes when you consider the disparity between Seifert's FC average and his limited-overs averages of 21.05 (LA) and 18.05 (T20). Seifert has proven himself to be a monster in FC cricket - the hardest format of them all - and although he'll be eager to boost those List-A numbers in the Ford Trophy, for a young batsman to set their batting foundations in four-day cricket makes me happy.

Same goes for Cleaver as he's got a FC average of 38.85, compared to a LA average of 26.92. Want to have a debate about the most criminally slept on kiwi cricketer? I'd put up Cleaver as my representative as he steadily stacks up runs without getting the attention that other players get. I mean, the dude's 6th in PS runs and averages 44.37 this season with four 50+ scores in eight innings; if Cleaver can bat, he'd still demand selection in a stacked CD batting line up sans wicket-keeping duties.

Devon Hotel Central Stags v Wellington Firebirds, round 6 Plunket Shield, brought to you by Budget rental, 2015/16. MORE: http://www.blackcaps.co.nz/match-reports/stags-make-hay-in-napier

There's a different wrinkle to Cleaver's work as he scored at 79.41sr and only Anton Devcich's 89.25sr was better (of batsmen to score 250+ runs). Seifert on the other hand had 55.19sr which is most likely thanks to the situations either batsman found themselves in as CD's batsmen dominated so Cleaver could play more freely, while Seifert was ND's best batsman so he had to bat accordingly. Low key; Cleaver's strike-rate was higher than Ryder's 76.50sr.

Last season's Plunket Shield campaign saw Seifert average 36.70 (ND's top-scorer two seasons in a row?) and Cleaver average 39.46, meaning that they have not only done it again, they have improved so far this season.

Fletcher and Horne operate on the tier below. Fletcher currently sits as Canterbury's best batsman and although he only passed 50 twice, Fletcher had seven 30+ innings from his 10 at-bats. Horne also chimed in with solid scores consistently for Auckland and although Mark Chapman (284) and Michael Guptill-Bunce (276) scored more runs than Horne (263), Horne had the highest average of the three at 32.87avg.

As we move into Ford Trophy cricket, we welcome a new layer to the battle between these lads. Seifert is leading the battle this season, while Cleaver isn't too far behind and Fletcher has done well in PS's first stanza to get himself back in the frame. Horne is the new kid on the block and despite showing some wonderful signs, he's still chasing.

Horne will demand selection in Auckland's FT team alongside Glenn Phillips however and the days of Phillips as a wicket-keeper appear to be over, given that Horne's announced his arrival. Last season Phillips played most of FT as the wicket-keeper and Horne only played two games, so expect Horne to earn a consistent nod further down the order while Phillips opens.

You know the deal folks, if you enjoyed the read then all you need to do is hit an ad to show your support to the Niche Cache. This is like a donation, but you don't need to do anything and helps us fight the good fight for domestic cricket. Shout out to you for reading about domestic cricket, chur.

Peace and love 27.