So our Blackcaps did what they couldn't do in Australia, against a full-strength Australian side and exactly what they did against Australia the last time these two teams met in Aotearoa. The good vibes are fairly obviously and a full, rowdy crowd in Hamilton was a sight that every kiwi cricket fan would have enjoyed; yesterday's ODI win was the definition of kiwi cricket. 

Those good vibes do come with a few, well not areas of concern, just weird little spots. That's especially the case looking forward to the Champions Trophy where we'll get the best gauge of where the Blackcaps ODI team sit in the world. We've definitely got world-class players and it took Ross Taylor's batting brilliance and Trent Boult's hostile left-arm bowling to push the kiwis up over Australia, right now though I'm not exactly brimmin' with confidence regarding the Champions Trophy. 

Water is yet to flow under that bridge, just keep in mind that while the bigger picture for the Test team is building towards a genuine tilt at the No.1 spot, a mid-term view for this ODI team is zoned in on the Champions Trophy. David Warner and Steven Smith, heck even Mathew Wade definitely make a big difference folks.

Taylor was brilliant though and I'm sure there will be a window where Taylor holds many of Aotearoa's batting records, before Kane Williamson snaps them up. Nothing would make me happier than Taylor enjoying his spot as the greatest kiwi batsman ever and his wizardry in noodling the ball around, while also smacking loose deliveries to the boundary is what puts Taylor (and Williamson) in that upper echelon.

When Taylor was doing his thing, the commentators were fixated on boundaries, on Taylor's preference to focus on not getting out and be the rock for the innings. That's all thanks to Taylor's experience and I'm sure he would have made it his goal to bat as deep into the innings as possible, while others come and go around him.

I had to pause when I described Boult's bowing as hostile - the Australian bowling attack should in theory be much more hostile right?  Boult was bowling on his home deck and appeared to have a chip on his shoulder, he was angry and tipping 140km/h which is meat and vege for those Australian batsmen, yet Boult still had them hopping around just as Pat Cummins had Jimmy Neesham hoppin'.

The other bit of funk on the back of Ish Sodhi being called into the Blackcaps ODI squad, was the performance of Mitchell Santner. This isn't just about what Santner did with the ball as what Gavin Larsen described as our 'frontline spinner' it's more about what Santner did as an all-rounder; he hit 38 off 34 balls and got took the Blackcaps from a reasonably poor total to one that they could defend.

Santner did what Colin Munro and Neesham couldn't as he got himself in and then enjoyed the fruits of his labour later in his innings. He endured the Australian short-pitched stuff and showed the silky strokes that have many excited about what Santner can offer with the bat. This is a key point for me because I'm eager to see the Blackcaps play with two spinners and just as we need to rid ourselves of this idea that you can't play two/three spinners in Aotearoa, we need to rid ourselves of the idea that the top all-rounder has to be a seam bowler.

If Santner is capable of hitting 30 of 20, 40 off 25 or adjusting his work to the situation and saving an innings, then there's no reason why he can't be the all-rounder in this team. There will come a time when Santner, Neesham and Corey Anderson will all play together, but for the South African series you could easily bring in Sodhi for Neesham for example. 

Obviously these are good options, or decisions that will need to be made ahead of the Champions Trophy. The Tom Latham as wicket-keeper experiment is all good and even though Latham couldn't do anything with the bat in either game, his glove-work is up to ODI standard and the luxury of having an opening batsman who is your wicket-keeper out-weighs Latham's lack of runs.

So, I've got Latham as a lock in this team while some might not. Other locks are Taylor, Williamson, Boult, Southee, Santner and if Martin Guptill's healthy and able to score runs upon his return, he's a lock as well. That leaves us with four spots up for grabs, four roles in this ODI team to suss out before the Champions Trophy - may the games begin.

Oh and before y'all harp on about Dean Brownlie; he's done his job perfectly. Brownlie should be in every Blackcaps ODI and Test squad, that's for certain, I just can't pick him over Guptill, Latham, Taylor or Williamson. That's all good though because we are in a position where we have an experienced bloke like Bronwlie who can bat anywhere in the batting line up, roam the boundary in the field and epitomise what it is to be a kiwi cricketer.

I view Brownlie as the perfect reflection of where kiwi cricket is at right now. We not only have options but we have blokes who will do whatever is asked of them and are good enough to slot in without any dramas. In the past we've had to call up domestic batsmen who weren't quite good enough, now we have a guy like Brownlie as a safety net.

Guptill, Latham, Taylor or Williamson are injured? Boom, Dean Brownlie steps up.

Not only does that help the Blackcaps win games, it ensures that the young wave of batsmen in Aotearoa (who I love) have to stack up a mountain of runs just to get a look at Brownlie's spot.