As I farewell the kiwi summer with a hearty 'ka kite', y'all may have guessed that I'm still bloody confused about the future of Aotearoa's Test team. I've had this on repeat all summer long and the changes made, along with the cluster of talent who are rising to the challenge of putting pressure on the blokes already in the Blackcaps has left me scratching my head as to what the future holds in terms of a group of players who can lead us into a period of kiwi cricketing glory.

The end of summer means that I'm going to dish up a range of thingy-ma-jigs on the illustrious Niche Cache pages that offer insight into the depth of kiwi cricket. Regular readers will know that this means selecting a number of teams, however I wanted to start by running through each domestic team to see who I reckon will be next to earn a Blackcaps Test call up. Key point here is that it's about guys who will earn their Blackcaps Test debut, ruling out players who will likely return to the Blackcaps Test team.

Auckland Aces

This one is fairly easy with Lockie Ferguson almost getting the nod, only for injury to give that opportunity to Scott Kuggeleijn; even if healthy, Ferguson probably wouldn't have made his Blackcaps debut down in Hamilton. Ferguson's got a tremendous Plunket Shield average of 22.03 this season and this follows suit with his career First-Class average of 24.61, most important is his fitness though and in the past two seasons Ferguson has enjoyed a heavy workload which is massive for a bloke with his pace.

Blackcaps bowling stocks are strong and Ferguson only really came into contention after injuries to Tim Southee and Trent Boult. As is the case with all these blokes, the stars will need to align via injuries to established Test bowlers and despite his hot form in four-day cricket, Ferguson is still sitting behind Southee, Boult, Neil Wagner, Matt Henry and apparently Colin de Grandhomme (Doug Bracewell will also return at some stage. I can see Ferguson making his Test debut next summer, assuming that he gets through the ODI stuff and winter training without injury.

Northern Districts Knights

While there is a large group of talented youngsters at ND, they are all a few summers away from really establishing themselves as genuine Blackcaps contenders. Bharat Popli hasn't quite backed up his breakout summer, Tim Seifert is battling with the plethora of wicket-keeping/batsmen and ND's pace attack are exciting but very raw with Zak Gibson, Brett Randell and Brett Hampton all guys to keep tabs on.

I'll default to Scott Kuggeleijn as he didn't actually make his debut despite getting the call up. The Blackcaps are waiting for Corey Anderson to get build his bowling up and as long as Jimmy Neesham isn't taking his opportunities, there's going to be a sneaky little opening for Kuggeleijn to earn selection as a third-seamer who can offer some runs batting at No.7/8.

Kuggeleijn has dominated the wicket-taking rankings for multiple summers but he's going to struggle to earn a Test debut in the next 12 months and he - more than any other joker named - will need a heavy dose of luck to get a chance any time soon. 

That chance will definitely come, just not as quickly as Ferguson's chance.

Central Districts Stags

Wicket-keeper Dane Cleaver and left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel deserve super honourable mentions as Cleaver's averaging 43.90 with the willow this season (38.96 career avg) and Patel takes wickets for a laugh. CD have the best 'mid-20s' cricketers in Aotearoa and it's difficult to decide between George Worker, Will Young and Tom Bruce; especially as they are all competing for similar middle order batting spots. 

Worker's got the spin in his favour, well sort of. Bruce has a FC career average of 32.33 via his off-spin which rates pretty well against Worker's 65.87avg, plus we've seen that Bruce can do some wicket-keeping things as well. I'm leaning towards Bruce and Young over Worker as there's more chance that those middle order spots open up and I just think that Bruce and Young are better batsmen than Worker.

Worker: 77 games, 28.45avg, 5 x 100, 20 x 50.

Bruce: 25 games, 44.57avg, 4 x 100, 12 x 50.

Young: 48 games, 42.21avg, 4 x 100, 22 x 50.

The fact that CD have a 24-year-old (Young) who averages 42 and a 25-year-old (Bruce) who averages 44.57 is pretty damn cool itself, it also reinforces my vision about the glorious period of kiwi cricket that awaits. My hunch is that Young will be selected to make his debut before Bruce, however I believe that Bruce's debut will come soon after Young's and that they'll form a super intriguing middle order.

Young is a No.4 and by the time Ross Taylor retires, it'll be Young's turn to make that No.4 spot his own. Taylor won't retire for a while but if he's unable to play for whatever reason, then it'll be a fantastic opportunity to allow Young to feel the Test cricket vibes. Working against Bruce - despite clearly being on Gavin Larsen's dodgy radar - is that the Blackcaps have no idea what they want from their No.6. 

Bruce is definitely an option at No.5, I like Henry Nicholls though so I can't bet against myself there and it's going to take some time for the Blackcaps to figure out whether they want an all-rounder, an extra bowler or a pure batsman like Bruce (who dabbles in off-spin) there. 

Point being; get low key excited about the prospect of a Blackcaps Test team with Tom Latham, Kane Williamson, Will Young and Tom Bruce in the batting line up. 

Wellington Firebirds

When BJ Watling goes down injured (or retires) it's going to be Tom Blundell's chance to step up to the Blackcaps Test team. The Wellington wicket-keeper has already played limited overs cricket for Aotearoa, although his strongest domestic format is clearly the four-day stuff; Blundell has a FC average of 36.90, compared to a List-A average of 25.48 and T20 average of 27.80.

Chuck in his average of 48 this season and Blundell has emerged as the leader of the wicket-keeping/batsmen pack.

Canterbury Kings

Canterbury have Ken McClure and Cole McConchie who are impressive batsmen to keep an eye on in the coming years (McConchie is one of three batsmen to score over 400 runs and average over 50 this summer, the other two are Anaru Kitchen and Colin Munro), yet it's Kyle Jamieson and Ed Nuttall who catch the eye. Jamieson was on track for an epic Plunket Shield campaign before he got injured, with his combo of height and ball-movement capable of being a point of difference.

Jamieson needs to stack up a few solid summers to really make his case and there's the constant presence of injury that is working against him playing consistently. Nuttall's slightly older, slightly more experienced which keeps things extremely even but I don't think we are going to see Jamieson demand selection until he's at least 25.

With a FC average of 29.38 and a better bowling strike-rate than both Kuggeleijn and Ferguson, Nutall's made a habit of taking wickets. This will suit a home summer, possible late next summer or more likely the summer of 2018/19 when the Blackcaps will need a swing bowler to make the most of favourable conditions. Nuttall is different to Ferguson and Kuggeleijn as he doesn't rely on pace or a whippy action to hurry batsmen up, he moves the ball and that's what the Blackcaps will need when Trent Boult/Tim Southee aren't playing.

Otago Volts

Had to go out-of-the-box for the Southerners as their youngins' won't earn a debut before veteran opener Brad Wilson retires. I'm not even convinced that Wilson will get a chance to play Test cricket for Aotearoa, however I am rolling with the chances that Wilson is selected as a short-term replacement for Tom Latham or Jeet Raval; if Wilson retires in the next 18 months then I'll have to reassess.

Wilson's been near the top of the Plunket Shield run-scorers list for a few seasons now and he'd be the perfect bloke to bring in for a Test, or a series if there's an injury to one of the established openers. Otago's talented youngins' are just too raw with Josh Finnie, Jacob Duffy, Nathan Smith and Michael Rae unlikely to knock on the door of Test cricket for a few years at least.

Anaru Kitchen has thrown a major spanner in these works with his swashbuckling form for Otago and he's shown that he's capable of such a hot-streak way back in his Auckland days. Kitchen would be a possibility for a middle order spot, however he's still down the pecking order in that regard and there's a greater chance that an opening spot opens for a Test than Kitchen being given a run as a powerful No.6 batsman.

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