The day will come folks when Aotearoa will have a cluster of kiwis in the Big Bash League, believe that. At the moment we only have Brendan McCullum going another round with Brisbane Heat and Mitchell McClenaghan with Sydney Thunder, meaning that there will be more kiwi coaches in BBL than players; Daniel Vettori is head coach of Brisbane Heat and has Shane Bond as his bowling guy, while Stephen Fleming coaches Melbourne Stars.

Vettori and Fleming are easily the best kiwi cricketing minds and I've recently been a bit perplexed as to why there hasn't been more of an effort to get them involved in kiwi cricket. Both have slid right into T20 cricket where the money and lifestyle on offer is far superior to anything that NZC could offer them, however it also feels as though Vettori and Fleming have stayed well clear of kiwi cricket while happily taking up various opportunities in cricket around the world.

I smell a bit of beef, or perhaps less dramatic and more cryptic; Vettori and Fleming are very smart.

And I don't throw 'best kiwi cricketing minds' around lightly...

Having these two involved as head coaches in BBL adds a splash of intrigue that makes up for the lack of kiwi players involved. In my sporadic BBL recaps over the next few weeks, I'll include Vettori and Fleming as best as I can - it's kinda hard to report on what coaches are doing. In setting the scene, the presence of Fleming and Vettori in high profile BBL roles is an example of the opportunities that are available for kiwi coaches and not just head coaches by skill coaches and even data analysts.

Now is a good time to introduce the idea of relationships between BBL franchises and kiwi associations leading to greater opportunities in BBL for kiwis. That Sydney Thunder is aligned with Canterbury and Hobart Hurricanes with Auckland, not only allows for players to be scouted but also for kiwi coaches to enjoy opportunities with their aligned BBL franchise. 
I'm not 3,000 percent confident in predicting how kiwi players get more BBL opportunities via the NZC scheduling, I am 3,000 percent confident in predicting that more BBL franchises will align themselves with kiwi associations in the next five years or so.

Yes, Fleming and Vettori are unique in that they are kiwi cricketing legends and that would have opened the coaching door to them without doubt. It wasn't quite as easy as that though with Fleming earning his stripes in the Indian Premier League where he not only had to prove himself as a T20 coach, but also a manager in terms of bringing together big name cricketers and ensuring that they brought into the culture and vibe that Fleming wanted.

Not much room for an apprenticeship as an IPL coach, right? 

Vettori featured heavily for Brisbane Heat as a player and after establishing that relationship over a number of years, Vettori moved into a coaching role. Vettori has been a constant in BBL and that's coincided with far less kiwis playing BBL than I'd like, especially as it's in close proximity and we've got the talent. Vettori and his Heat homie McCullum are incredible cricketing talents, yet that doesn't take away from my feeling that they knew what the BBL was going to be, before it became what it is now.

That's 'early-adopters' for you office folk and 'hype-beasts' for you youngsters.

The Vettori x McCullum connection is funky as well given that they have not only set up base in Brisbane for a number of years now, they also feature heavily for Middlesex in England's T20 competition. Vettori coaches Middlesex and McCullum is their big recruit, which then makes it no surprise that Tim Southee is also an overseas recruit for Middlesex. I ain't got nothing to confirm their homie-ness, however I'm fairly confident in saying that Southee is homies with Vettori and McCullum, to the extent at which it's not crazy and instead rather logical to suggest that Southee may opt for Brisbane Heat if he pursues a BBL excursion. 

This is a low key interesting juncture for kiwi involvement in BBL because in McCullum and McClenaghan, we have two players who are examples of the two pathways from Aotearoa to BBL - pathways that will get a lot more traffic in the coming years. 

McCullum is the older player who has retired from international cricket and is knocking around on the T20 circuit. Although Aotearoa doesn't have anyone who can fit the B-Mac mould other than Ross Taylor (who may opt to just play Test cricket after the World Cup and play BBL instead of T20 Internationals and ODIs), we could see a veteran kiwi impress in Super Smash and snap up an opportunity in BBL. 

Jeetan Patel could be another joker, but he hasn't been given a gig yet so I don't think that'll come unless a BBL franchise desperately needs a veteran spinner. The one to watch in this bracket is Jesse Ryder and he's still scoring enough runs to deserve interest, he's also available for the full BBL assuming that Central Districts play ball.

McClenaghan is the younger (he's not super young but represents the younger side) player who can't see an immediate future in Test cricket and is willing to put BBL over ODI/T20I. Because NZC schedule their season in a weird way, they are effectively forcing the players to chose between ODI/T20I and BBL. Right now that's not creating any dramas, but once the BBL offers get too good to turn down, there will definitely be some dramas. 

Ish Sodhi or Colin Munro could become increasingly frustrated or disenfranchised with the lack of opportunities in Test cricket and instead of trying to be available for Blackcaps limited overs stuff, they could make themselves available for a full BBL campaign. Two or three game stints are nice and both Sodhi and Munro have done that, but a full campaign is what the players and franchises would view as ideal.

At some stage the lure of BBL will become too much to say nah to and whether it's the veteran or the youngster, kiwi cricketers will soon put BBL opportunities directly up against NZC's schedule and be forced to chose. I'll finish with this curveball, something that is a wee bit dramatic but not unrealistic given the lack of Test cricket and constant weird stuff thrown up by Lesson:

Say you're Ish Sodhi and you've shown that you can play Test, ODI and BBL cricket. Sodhi wants to play Test cricket but Aotearoa aren't playing many Tests at the moment and Sodhi isn't a consistent member of the squad, thus meaning that his NZC contract is largely based around limited overs cricket. Right now, Sodhi isn't even viewed as a consistent ODI cricketer, so his Blackcaps duties are limited to T20 Internationals.

Sodhi has shown that he's a decent international prospect in all formats, although his very best work has come in T20I and funnily enough - BBL. 

Sodhi could give up his NZC contract and instead opt to pursue various T20 opportunities around the world as McClenaghan has, led by being available for a full BBL campaign. This is a snow-ball; if Sodhi performs well in a full BBL tournament, the T20 opportunities will come thick and fast. 

Sodhi still loves Test cricket and wants to be Aotearoa's best spinner, a title that only comes via Test cricket wickets. Not only is Sodhi currently out of the Test cricket frame, he's been yo-yo'd by Lesson and has no idea where he stands, oh and in 2018 the Blackcaps only have a three-Test tour to Pakistan and Sri Lanka come for two Tests. 

This is a nice window for Sodhi to step away from his NZC contract, strike while he's in demand for T20 cricket. At any stage in the future he can step back into the NZC mixer and during this whole time, Sodhi can still be selected to play for the Blackcaps; Sodhi could give up his NZC contract and still play the World Cup in 2019.

Sodhi can still get through Plunket Shield reps as well, given there's not much T20 cricket during the first Plunket Shield stanza for example. After a stretch in T20 cricket, probably resulting in T20 dominance, Sodhi can then attack Test cricket with vigour and I'd suggest that this will coincide with a new Blackcaps regime that may view Sodhi more favourably.
This may also coincide with NZC also coming under a new regime, a regime that places Test cricket as a priority. 

If I were Sodhi, I'd be seriously considering this option as his T20 leggies are hot and not only is his standing in the Blackcaps Test picture rather cold (for whatever reason), the Aotearoa Test cricket situation is an ice-berg. Drive your stocks up in T20 cricket and become a bit of a BBL star - meaning that you are also an Aotearoa star because BBL is prime-time viewing in Aotearoa - and let the Test cricket shit-storm pass in Aotearoa, before returning to a more favourable kiwi Test cricket landscape.

What's if that Test cricket landscape doesn't change for the better (more Tests, new regime)? Well shit, you're a gun leggy in the very format that now rules the cricketing world and BBL will not only lead to you being a star in Aotearoa, you're also a kiwi-Indian and we all know how the IPL sits in India.

Something to consider.

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Peace and love 27.