A cheeky ODI/T20 tour of Africa aye? They must have some super logical reason as to why the Black Caps will only be playing cricket in coloured clothing, probably some carry on about scheduling and what not, which is a bummer.

Three ODI's against Zimbabwe starting on the 2nd of August followed by a T20 and then two 20 over fixtures against South Africa with three ODI's pegged on the back of that. With all due respect, it's a pretty weird tour but hey, who are we to argue against seeing the Black Caps back in action?

With a weird tour comes an opportunity to send a 'weakened' squad with guys on the fringe of the best 11 picked to be given an opportunity. The slightly more spin friendly conditions of Zimbabwe allow Ish Sodhi to get an opportunity as he'll only be a part of the Zim portion of the tour while Doug Bracwell has only been selection for the South Africa bit.

Along with Sodhi and Bracewell, who have battled to be a part of Black Caps activities before and after the World Cup, are the likes of Adam Milne, Colin Munro, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner and Ben Wheeler. While these lads might find themselves in the 'wider squad' category at full strength (Neesham's progress was halted by injury), they have all had tastes of international cricket to various extents. Even though this isn't a full strength squad, there aren't any blokes who you would fail to recognise and we're starting to see some solid depth come into the Black Caps set up.

The rest of the squad speaks for itself and understandably veterans like Grant Elliott, Luke Ronchi, Nathan McCullum and Ross Taylor have been picked along with Kane Williamson who will be skipper (Captain Prince!). 

Why these players have been picked and other top tier players like Brendon McCullum, Trent Boult and Tim Southee could be a contentious question, but the presence of those experienced players picked will be crucial. An overseas tour, whatever form it comes in, is a great chance to continue to build the culture of a sports team and while I'm all for younger players being given many opportunities, you need the leadership and holders of that culture to be present.

A lot of our depth is currently stored in the bowling and all-rounder garages at the moment, which could be a worry as we don't have batsmen who are knocking on the door as say the likes of Bracewell, Milne, Sodhi, Neesham and Wheeler are. 

Batsmen such as Tom Latham and Munro (even Santner) serve as batting depth with Latham likely to partner Martin Guptill at the top, but it would have been exciting to see a young batsman given an opportunity to come into the system. Possibly a lad like Will Young from Central Districts?

This is very much a case of nit-picking, but it's a point of interest moving forward. Nothing drastic nor dramatic needs to be done, but I'd love to see a young batsman eased into the group like Ben Wheeler was or see a young batsman being shown a huge vote of confidence and given time to grow into a top order batsman at the international level.

McCullum haters/questioners will pounce on the fact that McCullum is enjoying the benefits of T20 cricket but has been 'rested'. I love the non-selection of McCullum as well as Southee and Boult who will obviously feature in more important series - Australia in November, and this fits the mould of giving other blokes a chance to build some depth. No issues here. 

I'll be back before we get some cricket in Zim Zim Zim, but right at this minute I've got a few early contenders in 'It's A Big Tour For...'

• Adam Milne is and has been hovering on the brink of the dreaded 'what could have been had it not been for injuries' cliff and he's got to start getting some consistent cricket under his belt if he wants to be a international cricketer. There's other bowlers who are staying healthy and putting Milne under pressure to perform..../play.
• Mitchell McClenaghan has been healthy but was well below par in England, if he can't stop leaking runs then there are other bowlers who can do his job.
• Tom Latham should get a lot more game time on this tour and now is his time to show that he can do the job in the coloured clothing. He's shown glimpses to give us hope about his Test future but neither he nor I want him to be pigeon-holed.
• Mitchell Santner had a dream start to his Black Caps career, can he back it up and build on top of it?
• Grant Elliott wasn't at his World Cup best in England and if he is unable to perform in Africa then you have to wonder how long we can carry an older bloke before someone younger is given a go.
• Jimmy Neesham and Corey Anderson are still going toe-to-toe for that all-rounder spot, but Anderson's gathering injuries like Milne (although stress-related injuries could be code for 'have a rest lad') which gives Neesham inside running now. We need to forget the heroics of his first few performances as a Black Cap, it's all about the now in this battle.