Mmmmmm Guppy...

Sri Lanka have been very mediocre in the opening two ODIs and now find themselves 2-0 down heading to Nelson for another double dose of ODI cricket. Everything from the first two ODIs has left me highly satisfied with our BLACKCAPS as they have not only out-played Sri Lanka, they haven't slid too far down from the level which they now operate, hence the domination. Here's some thoughts...

• 4/49 off 10 overs and 4/33 off 9.4 overs from Matt Henry shows exactly where our bowling stocks sit; The Stable has never been healthier. Henry didn't offer too much in Australia in the whites and he's responded exactly how we want our BLACKCAPS who have been dropped to. Henry is at his best nibbling the ball around at a decent pace and enjoys the luxury of being able to drop slightly short of a good length, hitting the top half of the bat thanks to his ability to deliver a 'heavy ball'. Henry is quality, what he does in the remaining games though will be interesting as Sri Lanka could look to target him early (they gotta try things, ya know?) and now know the threat posed by Henry.
• While Henry has been the highlight of two impressive bowling displays, The Stable has produced the goods as a unit which is mighty impressive. If I were to pick one bowler who has intrigued me the most from the first two ODIs it would be Mitchell McClenaghan or Big Mitch who has figures of 2/40 off 10 overs and 3/32 off 8 overs. I'd hate to face McClenaghan thanks to a line and length that is always 'at you' (/attacking the batsman). The Christchurch pitch offered nice pace and bounce which I think worked in all of our bowlers' favour, especially McClenaghan who, like Henry likes to hit a length just a tad short of a good length. With a bit of bounce, this length is hard to hit along the turf hence we're seeing a lot of catches and McClenaghan is enjoying this the most.
• Peep a little competition amongst the bowlers as they are all competing for positions within The Stable. Tim Southee and Trent Boult are the top dawgs, while Doug Bracewell and Neil Wagner form the Test attack leaving Henry, McClenaghan and Milne fighting for ranking points.
• Christchurch gave the kiwis the opportunity to play two spinners in the second ODI. When you consider that Sri Lanka also rolled out two frontline spinners, it probably pointed to both skippers thinking that the second ODI would see a rougher pitch and more spin. It was a tiny sample size but we got to see the positives and negatives of Ish Sodhi's leg-spin which is always difficult for tail-enders to handle. Sodhi did however deliver a few mandatory half-trackers which has been a persistent problem and as I reckon Brendon McCullum and Mike Hesson want to see more of Sodhi, he'll probably get at least one chance in Nelson.
• How good did Henry Nicholls look!? There's a couple young batsmen who will come into the picture over the next 18 months and I've seen enough to say that Nicholls is a long-term option in the top/middle order. Sure, a Neesham or Anderson could do the job in the middle order but Nicholls oozes class and the tidy lefty looks like a Tom Latham clone. I think I was right about Nicholls being ranked ahead of George Worker.
• No batsman in the world puts such an emphasis on their follow through and head position during that follow through than Martin Guptill. While Guppy was smoking them in the second ODI and the focus quickly turned from winning the game to chasing the fastest 50 ever, it felt inevitable that Guppy would bang another six. This is because Guptill can go big in any direction against any sort of delivery;  a full-ish ball outside off is driven for six, a full-ish ball straight is drop-kicked for six, a short ball outside off gets upper-cutted for six and a short straight ball gets pulled for six. Such hitting is effortless thanks to his head which stays over the point of impact, without fault.
• Guptill and Brendon McCullum go about their boundary-whacking quite differently. Guptill stays still, thus making it look so easy while McCullum makes any delivery able to be smacked thanks to quick and decisive footwork. 
• What happens in terms of team selection in Nelson for the third and fourth ODIs will be interesting. First and foremost is the health of the skipper McCullum, which could offer a funky silver lining if he's deemed unfit. Nicholls could move up to open or Latham could open again, either way there's opportunities to be had for another batsman.
• Adam Milne mate, you gave us 10 economical overs and got injured. You're only good when you're on the park so here's hoping for our sanity that you run out there again in this series.
• Tim Southee returns to the squad for the third ODI which could see him walk back into the bowling attack, I'd rather see him carry the drinks and let the others do the work though. 
• Bracewell, McClenaghan and Henry backed up in the first two ODIs so I suspect there'll be some rotation with Southee's return and the spinning situation confusing matters. I now like the look of three seamers and two spinners, perhaps repeating the dose from the second ODI with Bracewell, Henry, McClenaghan, Santner and Sodhi getting the nod. If Southee returns, it could be in place of Bracewell.
• Why isn't there any padding on the fences around the boundary? Put some heavy duty padding (with advertising on it of course) and watch our lads fly into the fences without the danger of sliding into some stupid advertising thing. Seriously, get padding out there and watch 'em fly.