Not too many hit a cricket ball like Kuggeleijn

If you're unsure of Scott Kuggeleijn's recent dramas, just take a moment to whack 'Scott Kuggeleijn trial' into Google.

Form your own opinions on the matter.

Everything regarding this trial smells funky and not in a good way, we'll let the judicial system sort that out.

Now, Kuggeleijn has made the smart move of taking himself out of the picture for selection in any Aotearoa cricket team. We could probably debate until those cows came home whether Kuggeleijn was told that he wouldn't be considered for any national team selection until the trial was sorted out, or if Kuggeleijn himself made the decision to stay out of the way until he had learned how his immediate future post-trial would look. Regardless, it's a wise move and too often in sport we see situations like this escalate to a 'should player X be considered for selection' point.

Innocent until proven guilty, sure, but it's just better for everyone involved that Kuggeleijn stays clear of the national team for now.

And that's still the case when you consider Kuggeleijn's cricketing credentials, which have him situated as one of the top-three domestic cricket players in Aotearoa. When news of Kuggeleijn's withdrawal from the proverbial 'mixer' came through, the Aotearoa 'A' team was mentioned and Kuggeleijn would have more than likely have been a name that was quickly jotted down for this team, had his court case not been lingering.

That kinda sells Kuggeleijn short though because the way he's playing cricket at the moment, compared to the way some of our Blackcaps are playing cricket, puts Kuggeleijn in the frame for Blackcaps selection. It's a tricky conundrum that faces the Blackcaps because there are a few players like Kuggeleijn who are knocking the selection-door down with runs and wickets, yet there's a leaning towards giving blokes in the Blackcaps an abundance of time (except for guys like Henry Nicholls and Ish Sodhi) to ride through a lean-patch of form.

That doesn't leave a whole lot of room for new players, a situation that has pros and cons as it ensures that players who want to make the team need to stack up piles of runs, wickets or both but if you're a player like Todd Astle or Kuggeleijn to an extent, you've got to be wondering what more you can do to demand selection. In the case of Kuggeleijn (and Astle with Mitchell Santner) there's Corey Anderson and Jimmy Neesham ahead of him as seam-bowling-all-rounders, comparing the stats of these three makes for interesting ponderings.

Interesting because Anderson (25yrs) and Neesham (26yrs) have played 43 First-Class games while Kuggeleijn (24yrs) has played 45 games, thus giving us a fairly even platform to judge their stats. Kuggeleijn has taken 150 FC wickets @ 33.45 while Anderson has taken just 38 @ 42.34 and Neesham 83 wickets @ 34.14, which puts Neesham and Anderson well and truly in the shade but that's to be expected as Kuggeleijn is more of a bowling all-rounder.

With the bat though, things are pretty even as well; Kuggeleijn has 1,835 runs @ 32.76 while Anderson has 2,301 runs @ 35.95 and Neesham has 2,303 @ 34.37. Given that Neesham and Anderson would bat a few spots higher than Kuggeleijn and be used as bowlers after Kuggeleijn has taken the new-ball or bowled as first-drop, these stats are make sense.

But it also puts into perspective Kuggeleijn's ability as a cricketer as he's often taking the new-ball and picking up ample amounts of wickets, while also casually hitting 11 half-centuries and three centuries in 45 games. Kuggeleijn's work this year would make as good a case as any for Blackcaps selection as he's taken 34 wickets in seven FC games and hit a 40, two half-centuries and a century in that time with only two scores under 10.

Kuggeleijn has taken at least 3 wickets in all but one of those games.

Simply put; Kuggeleijn could easily be causing selection headaches for Mike Hesson and the selection panel jokers. There's scope for Kuggeleijn to predominantly be used as a bowler, maybe as a third-seamer who can offer some runs at No.8 or 9 in the batting line up and this is especially interesting when we consider how eager Hesson and the selection panel jokers have been to try push blokes like Doug Bracewell, Adam Milne or Tim Southee into a bowling all-rounder role.

Bracewell averages 25.22 with the bat in FC cricket and 34.39 with the ball and has enjoyed a pretty luxurious ride with the Blackcaps in recent years, despite Kuggeleijn's averages being better.

These are all selection conundrums that we need not worry about now though as the ugly off-field situation will need to play out. Who knows what will happen with/after the re-trial, but until that point Kuggeleijn will have a chance to keep on dominating domestic cricket and chances are by the time the re-trial comes around, Kuggeleijn will be the best bowling all-rounder in Aotearoa.