A 2-1 ODI series loss to South Africa in South Africa should always go down pretty well given the talent that this South African team has. If both teams had been at full strength and the BLACKCAPS had lost the series by a game, I'd still be pretty happy so to see a BLACKCAPS team that lacked the sexy names (names that make the World Cup-loving-public want to watch) compete and push the South Africans was lovely.

To make a point, allow me to bring in the Warriors for a comparison. The Warriors team that lost to the Tigers over the weekend had four player who you would have considered starters before the season began in Bodene Thompson, Ryan Hoffman and Simon Mannering while Konrad Hurrell came off the bench. The rest of the squad were players who got their opportunity thanks to injury (Solomone Kata for Ngani Laumape) or a variety of other circumstances.

The BLACKCAPS team for the deciding ODI against SA had four players from the World Cup final, four! Hence why I'm taking a 2-1 series loss as a very reasonable result compared to the Warriors. There's only four players from the 5th ODI against England in this team as well.

Heading to Africa, not many people would have said that Tom Latham would be putting pressure on Brendon McCullum to open the innings. Not many people would have said that Ish Sodhi would be viewed as the numero uno spinner and not many folks would have predicted a bowling attack of Sodhi, Adam Milne, Doug Bracewell and Ben Wheeler for the deciding ODI. 

Latham was the leading run-scorer of the series from both teams, edging out Hashim Amla by two runs and was the only player to score multiple half-centuries. What I liked almost as much as Latham's volume of runs was the way he went about scoring those runs, in a vastly different fashion to McCullum. Latham had the lowest strike rate of the top six run-scorers at 75.74, well below the seemingly standard run-a-ball but it added an air of solidarity to the top order. 

Of those top six run-scorers, the only kiwis were Latham and Martin Guptill - I can't remember too many series whether ODI or Tests where our openers have been able to consistently lay a platform. That is easily the thing to chirp about with the batting as Guppy continued his great run of form while Latham emerged as somewhat of a classic anchor at the top of the order.

This poses the obvious question moving forward about Latham's place in the side. To answer that question, I think we have to look at the middle order and how badly they failed to make the most of the good work done by Latham and Guptill. Kane Williamson didn't have his best series scoring 93 runs in three innings' as he failed to pass 50, but we can cop that from Prince Kane as it's a blip on the radar. 

George Worker filled Ross Taylor's boots admirably and showed that he could be a factor at some point, especially with his left-arm tweakers. Grant Elliott and Colin Munro however couldn't really make the most of their opportunities with Elliott's value seen more in his experience and bowling ability while Munro's BLACKCAPS future is now in doubt. Munro scored two 30s in his two opportunities against SA which came after a disappointing Zimbabwe series. Elliott and Munro combined for 92 runs in two innings' each.

Luke Ronchi scored two runs in two innings' as well. 

I liked what Latham gave the BLACKCAPS at the top of the order and with McCullum appearing hell bent on his pinch-hitting role, I wouldn't mind seeing McCullum slide back down the order. That would mean that either Elliott or Munro has to make way which I'm fine with and I'm also fine with McCullum opening and Latham coming in at no.5 or something. I'd prefer to keep Latham opening though.

Further complicating that all-rounder position, which Elliott owned over the three games, was the lack of Jimmy Neesham who only played one game. It seems as though Munro's batting (he bowled eight overs all series) was preferred over Neesham's all round ability, especially as Neesham performed reasonably well in his one game - 41 runs, 7 overs, 1 wicket @6.71rpo.

Coach Mike Hesson might have been trying to ease Neesham back into international cricket or he may have wanted to see more of Munro, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt on this one. Either way, it was a bit weird and I'd have rather have seen Neesham.

It's hard to say that Ish Sodhi made a compelling case for his inclusion in coloured clothing cricket, but seeing as he wasn't even meant to be in SA, he took his chance. With Sodhi, it's probably important to remember that he isn't necessarily competing with Nathan McCullum for an ODI spin-spot. Sodhi replaced Mitchell Santner and Santner's ability to bat and bowl quality spin should probably see him ranked ahead of Sodhi right now, but the BLACKCAPS have seen first hand how dangerous a leggy can be in ODI cricket thanks to Imran Tahir.

Nathan McCullum is a soldier, someone who deserves plenty of respect as he's a great team man who can always be relied on to do what's asked. But he isn't the future and there's no way I can see him playing in the next World Cup, let alone in Test cricket anytime soon. While Sodhi's bowling numbers aren't great (28 overs, 1 wicket @6.03rpo) it's the game time that is the key here and the fact that Sodhi played in all three games is encouraging.

For me though, this SA series was all about the seamers as they compete for a third-seamer spot behind Trent Boult and Tim Southee as well as competing for the next cab off the rank spot. Remember that Matt Henry didn't feature in the SA series either, which in my eyes could be a bummer for him because Doug Bracewell, Adam Milne and Ben Wheeler are all coming for his spot.

The bowling is all about depth and having a group of bowlers who can be called on and can put pressure on Southee and Boult. With that, Milne, Bracewell and Wheeler all showed at various stages that they are in the mix. The major loser here is Mitchell McClenaghan who like Neesham, only played one game and was the most expensive bowler of this group going for 7.20 runs an over. I think McClenaghan should still be in the Stable, but he has now been overshadowed by bowlers who are more accurate and more consistent.

The Stable now looks something like this: Southee, Boult, Henry, Milne, Bracewell, Wheeler, McClenaghan and Neil Wagner, remember him?

In my eyes, everything about the BLACKCAPS has to be viewed in the context from trying to be the best cricket team in the world, in both ODIs and Test cricket. That means having more than 11 players, having a group of players who can cover injuries, lack of form and random circumstances that pop up while staying competitive. In the past, the BLACKCAPS have suffered a few injuries and they become a different team who are easily picked off by the world's best and that reliance on a few individuals has seen the team ride the rollercoaster of inconsistent performances. The group I have named below, signals changing times as we have depth and each player offers something slightly different, adding to the team selected for a specific game.

This isn't my opinion or in any specific order, it's just the group of cricketers that we have at our disposal who have all recently had a taste of rocking that black cap.

B. McCullum, Guptill, Williamson, Taylor, Elliott, Ronchi, N. McCullum, Anderson, Southee, Boult, Henry, Watling, Sodhi, Santner, Bracewell, McClenaghan, Wheeler, Milne, Latham, Worker, Munro, Neesham.

That's 22 players, with a bunch of youngsters eager to make their mark in domestic cricket this season. Things haven't been better.