Oh the joy of the Blackcaps naming the same group of lads that were made to look super average in the second Test against South Africa, for the third Test. There were a few players skating on thin-ice, I prefer the idea of giving the same group an opportunity to right their wrongs and demand further selection, especially during a series with the pressure of a must-win Test looming.

That pressure should bring out the best in the Blackcaps, or at least a grittier performance in which they resemble the best group of cricketers available in Aotearoa right now. Part 1 zoned in on South Africa being rather good at Test cricket, when you combine that with a Blackcaps team that has struggled against quality opposition despite whipping y'all into a frenzy with strong performances against weaker opposition and two of the three best cricketers in Aotearoa (Ross Taylor and Trent Boult) not playing, the result was probably fair.

Although we expect a bit more kiwi fight don't we?

Jeet Raval's place as an opener is locked in and there's been plenty of noise about Tom Latham as his opening partner. I wasn't keen on dropping Latham, however if the decision-makers were going to drop Latham, we are well stocked with veteran openers who could come in and grab a short-term opportunity while Latham 'goes back to domestic cricket to find his confidence' which is such a dumb expression; Latham's out of form and he'll be back in form soon enough, possibly in the upcoming Test.

The veteran status of Brad Wilson (49.33avg this season), Luke Woodcock (53.10avg), Greg Hay (46avg) and Michael Papps (43.63) could suit the short-term hole that dropping Latham would create.

Test cricket is a monster and it's up to batsmen (or bowlers) to find a way to be successful over time. Right now, Latham is in a hole and whether he can get himself out of that hole will likely define his Test career. I have always and will continue to harp on about 'form' and while it's not ideal that Latham is currently out of form, he's shown that he can do a job as a Test opener and should only be dropped if he doesn't return to some form. If he doesn't return to form then he's clearly not good enough to play Test cricket, but he'll return to form so kick back.

Kane Williamson's the GOAT so kick back.

Neil Broom is doing a job; filling Ross Taylor's boots.

Henry Nicholls just hit a century, so you can't do much there.

Here's where things get funky for me as I ponder what the strongest possible Blackcaps Test team could look like. Regardless of the conditions, I want Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Neil Wagner, Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi as my bowling unit and that would mean that BJ Watling has to bat at No.6. Five legit bowlers to take wickets and I'm certain that they can combine to average at least 50, adding 100 runs as a group every few Tests.

Watling is clearly good enough to bat No.6 and the Blackcaps aren't winning Tests against the best teams in the world with all-rounders, nah you need weapons.

But that idea will have to wait. It remains to be seen whether Jimmy Neesham will be selected and Williamson/Mike Hesson could opt for a five-headed bowling beast if they leave Neesham out; Southee, Boult/Henry, Wagner, Santner, Patel.

While Latham has shown that he's everything we want in a Test opener, Neesham doesn't quite have the same weight behind his case to stay in the team. Right now it feels like whatever Latham does, the cricketing gods aren't looking favourably on him, led by his uncharacteristic fiddlin' outside off-stump. Neesham just doesn't look like Test cricket batsman at the moment, it feels like he doesn't quite know what his job is or if he's good enough to do that specific job; his recent job has been to save an innings and he doesn't have the defensive game (mentally and technically) to do that.

Would you pick Neesham solely as a No.6 batsman? No.

Would you pick Neesham solely as your fifth bowler? No.

Would you pick Watling as your No.6 batsman? Damn skippy.

Would you pick Mitchell Santner or Matt Henry as your fifth bowler? Damn skippy.

But I reckon Neesham will get another opportunity. Again, that's reasonably all good because it's now up to Neesham to deliver something in a high-pressure Test.

A few times this summer I've looked at the Blackcaps Test team and the group of players in domestic cricket who are in the mix (not lads on the come up who will form the foundation of our Test team in the next five years; Tom Bruce, Will Young, Lockie Ferguson, Ken McClure, Corey Anderson, Scott Kuggeleijn, Glenn Phillips, Tom Blundell/Tim Seifert/Dane Cleaver) and I have come to appreciate the options available to this Test group.

Options like replacing Latham with George Worker, playing with two spinners, where to bat the wicket-keeper, the fascination with having an all-rounder there, chucking Colin de Grandhomme in because he can swing a bat at No.8 etc. There's so many options, reshuffles and different looks that can be explored with the Blackcaps Test team.

Right now though, while 'options' leans towards a positive outlook, the negative aspect is 'shambles'. And the most basic indicator that it's a shambles is to ask around your group of homies about the make up of this team, do that and you'll get a diverse range of opinions - far too diverse.

We've got no idea how our best Test team looks. We've got no idea about how many bowlers and batsmen we want, nor do we have any clue as to whether we want ho-hum contributors or blokes who can tear a game open. Take that further and we don't know if we're moving towards the future or chasing immediate success. There's no plan as to how the Blackcaps Test team will conquer the world, we're just plodding along hoping for the best.

You can't offer any sort of clarity to the players when the make up of the team is a shambles. You can't do a B-Mac and tell players 'this is how we want to play cricket' if you don't know how the best team looks, or what the collective strengths of the best team are.

It's cool to have options. Having options is great when there's a clear direction as to where the team is heading and right now those options just make my head hurt. Maybe the low key best-base scenario is that the Blackcaps get torched in this third Test and we just go all-in on bringing through the next wave of Test cricketers?