Black Caps Black Book .../Diary - December 6
Well, two pretty contrasting performances from two T20's. Anyone else think it's cute that the Black Caps and Pakistan have drawn both the test and T20 series? They could leave the U.A.E, if they win the ODI series, with an overall tour win, yes!
The Black Caps lost the first T20 by a mile as that rather explosive Pakistani wicket keeper Sarfraz Ahmed made a bit of a meal out of the Black Cap bowlers.
Then the Black Caps bounced back to tie the series. In both games, the Baps batted first and didn't set a huge total but a total that was around par - 135 and 144. It's hard to take any real major observations from the two performances as there was a bit of rotation and well, what can you really take from a few T20's?
The difference between the two games was the bowlers who didn't do much in the first game, then stepped up in the second. The rise of Anton Devcich is pretty impressive, he opened the bowling in the win with his tweakers which are perfect for T20 cricket. Honestly, don't be surprised to see Devcich to be picked up by some T20 team somewhere in the world. Perhaps the most impressive effort was Jimmy Neesham who picked up 3 wickets, he's had a lean past few weeks so it's good to see him back on track. Kyle Mills was also good ...
Would you pick Mills in a World Cup final? The guy would deserve a spot, he's effective and does the job but we simply have other options. I love Tim Southee and Trent Boult whether it's ODI's or white clothing, while Mitch McClenaghan is a bit of a lock as well. I like Daniel Vettori and Nathan McCullum regardless of conditions as they keep it tight like a tiger, while Neesham and Corey Anderson offer what they offer.
Shit, that just got tricky. Right I'm going to settle with Southee, Mitch, Vettori, McCullum, Anderson and Neesham. Mills thoroughly deserves a spot in the squad though, he's trustworthy and he along with Boult, Adam Milne and Matt Henry will give us fantastic depth in a tournament format.
Speaking of ODI's...