As far as welcoming a sub-continent team to Aotearoa goes, the Blackcaps ticked all the boxes in the opening ODI vs Pakistan and the funk now sits with Pakistan to see how they respond. Wellington dished up a typically glorious day and Kane Williamson's batting was equally as glorious, giving the Blackcaps an early lead in an exciting five game series.

I'm still super optimistic about the challenge Pakistan will offer the Blackcaps and it's a challenge that is needed, to help us suss out what this Blackcaps team is all about. That many of these Blackcaps and the team in general have not been but put under the pump in Aoteroa a whole lot could be because of how sublime they are, equally it could be because of the quality of opposition performances in Aotearoa; Champions Trophy results should help you make up your mind.

Mainstream media in Aotearoa rolled out headlines that suggested that the Blackcaps wiped the floor with Pakistan and despite the Blackcaps being the better team, that's a wee bit of a stretch. Pakistan still managed to score at 5.50rpo while they lost their wickets, opener Fakhar Zaman backed up his century vs NZ XI with a slick 82* (he now averages 53.55 in ODIs) and with Faheem Ashraf not-out on 17, Pakistan showed that they have decent batting all the way down to #9 at least.

And Pakistan didn't actually get bowled out.

We were also graced with our first sighting of what appears to be one of the better Pakistan bowling attacks in my life time and a bowling attack that is nicely suited to a World Cup in England. Hasan Ali showed us what the hype is all about with his 3 wickets and Pakistan easily rolled through six bowlers, without using Shoaib Malik or Mohammad Hafeez.

What I'm most intrigued about is how Pakistan use their skills to nullify the pummeling intent of Aotearoa's batsmen. Bowling seam in Pakistan or UAE ain't like it is here in Aotearoa and variations/skill are required to maintain a threat; Pakistan's bowlers showed signs of moving the ball in and away and they have an arsenal of slower balls. I expect them to be more confident in deploying these and bowling with a slightly more T20 mindset to Colin Munro especially, then the likes of Henry Nicholls later on.

Shadab Khan wasn't overly hot with his leggies in 9 overs and Pakistan will need him to pose a greater threat during the middle stages. He was the most economical bowler and only bowler to concede less than 6rpo (5.44), but he needs to take wickets to back up the seamers.

We know Kane Williamson's a poet:

I also liked how the top-3 all did their jobs and that is led by Martin Guptill, settling into his innings. Because we have all seen Guppy go bang so often before, many view that as his schtick, but I low key reckon that a 48 off 72 balls, being dismissed in the 27th over is a very solid innings from Guptill. He doesn't need to be overly attacking as that's what Munro's there for and although Williamson isn't a blaster, he squeezes singles with ease with mandatory boundaries thrown in and he does so from the first ball.

Ross Taylor's intent was also clear and he was waltzing around like he four coffees since the start of the innings - Munro goes bang, Williamson and Taylor are so classy they naturally score swiftly. Guptill can just bat, when he wants to have a crack, he can and given the talent around him, the more he can bat through to the 20th over with whatever score the better.

Please open your mind to two spinners playing in the same team in Aotearoa. This should solely be based on who your best ODI bowlers are and not whether you need to fill the seam quota. At some point soon, the question will be asked of Mitchell Santner as to whether he is doing enough to command the seemingly certain nature of his selection.

Santner was the most expensive Blackcaps bowler (6.50rpo) and he didn't take a wicket, which isn't much of a surprise given his career average vs Pakistan is 65.50. Take that further to other spin-loving nations like Bangladesh (42.50avg), India (45.85avg) and Sri Lanka (150) and those sub-continent teams don't pay Santner much respect.

The funk comes with Todd Astle offering enough as a spinner and a batsman to hold down a spot in the team without Santner - given that Lesson's reasoning has always been about Santner's all-round ability. For example, if Colin de Grandhomme (he scored 5 off 4 and conceded 11 runs off 1ov for Auckland yesterday) were to return and Santner continued to struggle, then it would be CDG vs Santner instead of CDG vs Astle.

Hopefully we see the same bowling group used for the second ODI. Lesson is usually highly reactive and could very likely take Lockie Ferguson out for his 7ov @ 5.71rpo, for Matt Henry. That's just the sort of shit that Lesson does and I hope that Ferguson (Santner as well, but he's un-droppable to Lesson) is given another chance.

Peace and love 27.