You see what's happened here? Because there's no Test cricket, three of these T20 thingys and an upcoming World T20, I gotta do some sort of preview to this T20 series against Pakistan right? 

Yesterday I discussed the spin situation for the BLACKCAPS, so there's no need to go through that again. It's not hard to note that this is series holds great importance for Todd Astle, he's been selected after strong Ford Trophy form and strong performances in these T20s could see Astle get a run in the ODIs and at that stage you'd have to assume that Astle is a strong contender for the World T20.

Astle and Mitchell Santner offer the spin, which will be important in India (where the World T20 will be held) however in our conditions and against Pakistan who are used to the spin-friendly conditions in the United Arab Emirates/Pakistan, seam and/or any swing will be crucial. 

This is the tightrope we will be waltzing across during this series, which will be held in vastly different conditions to the World T20. The only T20 cricket that we can gauge the BLACKCAPS off is the Sri Lankan and Pakistan series' in Aotearoa, which means these performances are all we have but the context of India must be kept in the back of our minds.

The squad includes Trent Boult, Adam Milne, Matt Henry and Mitchell McClenaghan who will feature as the frontline seamers with Grant Elliott's dibbly-dobblers there to share the workload and control the middle stages. Elliott was impressive, especially at Eden Park where he showed his value as a wise head, he'll be crucial in India and I'll be very interested to see how Elliott counters a very powerful batting line up for Pakistan.

McClenaghan played both T20s against Sri Lanka and bowled his full contingent of overs, yet he was the only one of that group to not take a wicket. Big Mitch has kinda been pigeon-holed as a limited overs specialist and I highlighted how well McClenaghan performed in the ODIs but he couldn't bring that form to the T20 format. Keep an eye on McClenaghan across these three T20s as I've got him in there as a near-certainty selection, which could change if he struggles while the others go well.

As lefties, McClenaghan is in competition with Trent Boult, who has slotted back in nicely to the team in limited overs cricket. Boult played both T20s and took 3/21 at the Mount, before 0/36 and I'm gonna predict that Boult is our best bowler in this series.

I'd also keep an eye on Milne who was up and down against Sri Lanka.

As for the batsmen? Well I actually think we have one of the best batting line ups in the world, especially in this format where it's all bang bang baby.

The Kane WIlliamson/Martin Guptill opening combination gets me going, even more so than a Brendon McCullum/Guppy combo. Williamson is the perfect opener in T20 cricket as he scores runs with freakish ease and without risk, Prince Kane simply keeps the singles flowing and strokes boundaries when bad balls are bowled, allowing Guptil to do what he does best.

This also allows Colin Munro to bat No.3 and after that big innings at Eden Park, my question regarding Munro is consistency. Domestic cricket nerds know that Munro is a beast of a hitter and he could be our wildcard in India, especially if he's coming in hot after the openers get off to a good start.

A batting line up of Williamson, Guptill, Munro, Taylor, Anderson, Elliott, Santner, Ronchi is dangerous, very dangerous.

Hopefully at some stage we'll see Anderson enjoy some time at the crease, whether that produces runs or not isn't really the question though as Anderson just needs to get back into the mix. 

As for Pakistan? Here's some of the big names you need to know...

Shahid Afridi: Big hitting, cricketing deity who will bat down the order, bowl leg-spin and be the man.

Ahmed Shehzad: Young prodigy who hasn't quite delivered on his prodigious talent. Averages 43.05 in Test cricket and 25.94 in T20 Internationals, so he goes alright.

Mohammad Hafeez: Top-order batsman, part-time chucker, Hafeez has hit 29 half-centuries in T20 Internationals and domestic T20 cricket.

Sarfraz Ahmed: Explosive wicket-keeper batsman, averages over 40 in Test and First Class cricket and strikes at over 100 in both T20 forms.

Umar Akmal: One of the most dissapointing cricketers on the planet, who can smack a cricket ball. Akmal should be mentioned in the same class as the world's best, but he hasn't quite delivered. 18 half-centuries in 159 domestic T20 games is alright though.

Shoaib Malik: Vastly experienced and recently recalled to the Pakistan team, very similar to Hafeez as he bats and bowls off-spin. Hit 75 in a T20 against England late last year and averages a very impressive 38.26 in domestic T20 cricket.

Wahab Riaz: Quick lefty who ruffled Shane Watson's feathers in the World Cup (one of my favourite spells ever).

Umar Gul: We've seen a lot of this lad, however he's only recently been recalled to the national team. 182 wickets in 131 domestic T20 games at an average of 18.50 is exceptional.

Mohammad Amir: Quick, whippy left-armer who is very good. Forget the match-fixing shit, expect Amir to enjoy our conditions.

Don't sleep on this T20 series, especially as I've got Pakistan offering far more of a challenge than Sri Lanka did. Sri Lanka simply didn't resemble the world's best T20 team and there's more talent, or T20 specific talent in this Pakistan team with batsmen who have played a lot in this format and are some of the best hitters in the world.

More importantly, Pakistan could roll out a bowling attack featuring Amir, Riaz and Gul. They all operate around or above 140km/h and have at some stage they have all been one of the best bowlers on our planet, which is a great asset to have when touring Aotearoa. Afridi and Malik should offer most of the spin and as they have played 557 T20 games (international and domestic) it's safe to say they know what they are doing and will make life difficult for the likes of Guptill, Munro, Elliott, Anderson and Santner.