Leading my collection of kiwi cricketing thoughts today is Henry Nicholls, a bloke who has done pretty much everything within his powers to demand international selection. The thing with Nicholls is that he's not playing international cricket and despite hitting a half-century against Australia and South Africa (his other two game vs Bangladesh), Nicholls fails the 'eye-test' for many kiwi fans.

What Nicholls has done in recent weeks is however rather emphatic and Nicholls is one of a few players who have exceptional domestic numbers but can't squeeze their way into the Blackcaps. With a List-A career average of 43.61, you'd have to assume that Nicholls would walk into the Blackcaps ODI team, let's throw four-straight 50+ Ford Trophy scores in there for good measure as well; 76, 140, 65, 64.

Hold up, let's go all the way back to the Bangladesh Test series where Nicholls hit 53, 4 and 98.

That gives Nicholls six-straight games in which he has scored over 50 runs and there's a fair chance that Nicholls will play a key role with the bat in the Ford Trophy final should Canterbury win. Will Young (CD), Daryl Mitchell (ND), Sean Solia (Auckland) and George Worker (CD) have more runs than Nicholls' 350 but Nicholls' runs have only come in five games, with Solia playing the least number of games from that group with seven. If Worker and Solia didn't go bonkers this summer, or as bonkers as they did, Nicholls' average of 70 would be the highest; Worker, Solia and Nicholls are the only notable batsmen to average over 60.

Worker and Nicholls both have List-A averages of 43, yet neither is in the Blackcaps. You can view that as being a bit silly because these blokes are clearly doing the job at the lower level, or you can view it as a sign of our simmering depth in Aotearoa.

Another little rabbit-hole I went down involved Tom Bruce and Lockie Ferguson, two blokes who have been selected in international limited-overs cricket. The funk here comes with Bruce and Ferguson clearly doing better in Plunket Shield cricket than either domestic limited overs competition, yet they are specifically looked at as being limited overs options with the Blackcaps.

While many know of Bruce thanks to his hitting power, his First-Class average 46.51 is better than his domestic limited overs averages which are both in the mid-30s. A FC strike-rate of 72.48 suggests that Bruce scores his runs at a nice rate, although nothing close to his limited overs strike-rates as he can clearly switch his style up to suit the format. More freakishly, Bruce is currently sitting in 7th for Plunket Shield runs and has a average of 48.85 this season; in seven innings' Bruce has hit a century and three half-centuries.

Ferguson's Plunket Shield work has been on my agenda all summer and while many think his speed and sometimes wild bowling might not be suited to Test cricket, he's running around with a FC average of 25.09 with 3.31rpo. That stacks up nicely to his List-A combo of 29.34avg/5.93rpo and T20 combo of 43.40avg/8.34rpo.

Sitting level with Scott Kuggeleijn and Jeetan Patel on 18 Plunket Shield wickets this season, Ferguson has a 22.33avg/3.05rpo combo that is mouth-watering when you consider his pace. Canterbury's Kyle Jamieson is the only seamer with more wickets (24 @ 18avg/3.50rpo) and for everyone worrying about whether Ferguson can handle the demands of bowling long spells; Ferguson's bowled 131.3 overs vs Jamieson's 123.1 and Kuggeleijn's 122.3.

Obviously Bruce and Ferguson are trucking along nicely in ODI and IT20 stuff, this is once again a case of your personal perception. On the one hand you might be a bit miffed that players aren't being picked in their best format, making you wonder if players are being given the best opportunity for success at the international level. On the other hand you might think that you need to earn a Test spot by performing on the international stage in limited overs cricket.

Remember that this is the same conundrum facing Nicholls and Worker, with the common factor here being that we've got fucking depth yo.

I'll finish with the stats of our young wicket-keeper/batsmen doing the rounds in Aotearoa. The number of young wicket-keepers is such that your personal favourite is likely to be the lad who represents your domestic team; as a Jaffa I love Glenn Phillips ... I've also got low key appreciation for CD's Dane Cleaver though and he's not getting the props he deserves.

(Ignoring T20 cricket)