Bangladesh's tour of Aotearoa will get underway tomorrow with a one-day game against a Aotearoa XI up in Whangarei. As is always the case for these games, we can't read too much into what happens from either team and that's only amplified with the Aotearoa XI being a collection of cricketers who won't be playing Super Smash cricket and this not being an Aotearoa 'A' team.

In theory, the best players in the country will all be playing Super Smash cricket although with many Blackcaps turning out for their domestic teams, there aren't as many spots up for grabs. That pushes blokes like Bharat Popli, Ben Smith and Ken McClure down a notch, despite being highly skilled batsmen, as they aren't going to be selected over Corey Anderson/Mitchell Santner in Popli's case or Henry Nicholls/Tom Latham in McClure's case.

While this isn't an Aotearoa 'A' team, Popli, Smith and McClure have all featured in Niche Cache 'A' teams previously and there is plenty of talent that we need to keep an eye on in this team to face Bangladesh. Popli and McClure will lead the intrigue as they are coming off a 2015/16 season in which they emerged as Aotearoa's premier young batsmen and this season hasn't quite gone to script; maybe it has because it's harder to back it up than it is to do it first time.

McClure averages 19.11 in five Plunket Shield games while Popli averages 20.90 from five games. Even Smith, who opens for Central Districts and was up there with Popli and McClure as a batsman to watch out for, has struggled this summer with just a single score over 15 (70) in four games. 

Canterbury's Cole McConchie will lead the team and the 24-year-old has had a better time of it through two Plunket Shield games, hitting scores of 103, 23 and 25. Rounding out the batting line up is Otago's Ryan Duffy, who has shown promise and averages 30.16 in Plunket Shield cricket through 18 games but like McConchie, he's only played two games this summer.

Popli is the oldest of that crop at 26yrs, McConchie is 24yrs, Duffy 25yrs, McClure is 22yrs and Smith is 25yrs. That in itself is pretty exciting, while the inclusion of Auckland's Ben Horne (22yrs) and Shawn Hicks (21yrs) will keep things funk with Horne likely to keep-wicket and bat down the order, while Hicks is a genuine all-rounder. Both are looking to break into the Auckland team on a more consistent basis and with guys like McClure, Popli and Smith looking to prove a point, there's many reasons to score some runs in this game.

The bowling attack will feature the left-arm spin of Ajaz Patel, who just happens to be 2nd in Plunket Shield wickets (25/27.08avg/2.69rpo). Patel will offer spin with Canterbury's Henry Shipley (20yrs) the young pup of the bowling attack, joining Wellington duo Matt McEwan (25yrs) and Iain McPeake (25yrs), along with ND's Brett Hampton (25yrs). 

Besides Patel who - along with Tarun Nethula - is dominating domestic cricket with spin, none of the seamers are on the fringes of the Blackcaps. Shipley only has three FC games to his name and needs to stack up performances, while McPeake and Hampton currently sit firmly in the 'domestic seamer' bracket. McEwan has been catching my eye with his all-round efforts for Wellington and he's the highest ranked seamer in this group; they'll all have a chance to demand attention with an impressive 10-over-spell against Bangladesh though.

This Aotearoa XI team isn't the 'next best' tier of cricketers in Aotearoa, it does show off some handy depth that has me generally excited about where kiwi cricket is heading. That we've got a team made up of guys who aren't deemed good enough to make their respective T20 squads and it still features a cluster of highly talented young cricketers will ensure that I debrief their individual performances. 

Of course, the purpose of this game is to give Bangladesh some pre-Blackcaps prep. There are many blokes in this Aotearoa XI who will have a chip on their shoulder, or a point to prove and that'll give Bangladesh a funky challenge.