Domestic Cricket Daily: What Are Tom Latham and Henry Nicholls Up To?
Not wanted for the Aotearoa 'A' tour, nor the Blackcaps T20 squad, Henry Nicholls and Tom Latham have been living it up in the delightful world of domestic cricket. Neil Wagner, Jeet Raval and Trent Boult have are also notable Blackcaps who have graced domestic cricket with their presence for longer than usual, yet those three aren't quite as interesting in the domestic bubble than Tom and Henry.
Wagner and Raval are Test specialists until further notice, while Tom and Henry are multi-format Blackcaps. Boult has his ODI and Test spots locked down and thus is a multi-format Blackcap as well, although we know what to expect from Boult and as one of the best seamers in the world, what he does in domestic cricket isn't quite as interesting vs the two Cantabrians.
There is a minor suggestion in there, if you read between the lines that Latham and Nicholls still have a bit to prove as Blackcaps. I won't go all-in on how Nicholls and Latham are on the chopping block, as they quite clearly are not in danger of losing their spots right now. However, given the abundance of wicket-keeper/batsmen performing at a high level and the depth on offer in the middle order batting roles, I don't think it's crazy to suggest that Latham and Nicholls are the ones most in danger of losing their spots in the ODI group ahead of the World Cup.
In the Test arena, there's less to discuss about Latham and Nicholls as they are steadily improving and sussing out the nuances of Test cricket. As we gear up for the World Cup though, we have to start pondering how Corey Anderson gets back into the mix, or whether Mark Chapman becomes a factor, or if Tim Seifert (or BJ Watling) could be the most viable wicket-keeping option.
In building the best team, former Canterbury coach Gary Stead will need to assess whether Latham and Nicholls are the best middle order options. Right now they are and this sets up a funky summer where three of Stead's former pupils at Canterbury in Latham, Nicholls and Matt Henry will all be super eager to command their places in the Blackcaps ODI group.
Nicholls has kinda been on fire, like low key sizzling over the start of the domestic season. In 3inns, Nicholls put up scores of 43, 41 and 54 in the Plunket Shield, followed by 62, 0 and 89 as the Ford Trophy swung into action. All up, that's 6inns and Nicholls has scored 40+ in 5inns, with a trio of 50+ scores thrown in.
Things have been a tad tougher for Latham, as he has passed 50 just once in 6inns across both Plunket Shield and Ford Trophy. Unlike Nicholls who put up a couple 40+ scores, Latham has had 4inns in which he has scored less than 10 runs, along with an 18 and then a 73* in Ford Trophy round two.
Within the ODI context, Latham getting his 73* in the Ford Trophy is handy. 79 runs @ 39.50avg/74.52sr in the Ford Trophy is solid and about par for where Latham should be at the moment in preparation for the United Arab Emirates ODI tour against Pakistan. Nicholls on the other hand has 151 runs @ 50.33avg/80.74sr and the most interesting thing about Nicholls is that his best knock of the season thus far, came in the openers spot in yesterday's win over Auckland.
Prior to that, Nicholls had been batting #3 in the Ford Trophy. Who knows why Nicholls was bumped up to open, with Stephen Murdoch sliding down to #3, but it could have been because Murdoch had scores of 7 and 17, while fellow opener Chad Bowes scored 14 and 38. My interpretation is that Nicholls may have been moved up to open to solidify the opening partnership and the vastly experienced Murdoch could settle back into the more familiar role of #3.
Could Nicholls be viewed as an opening option for the Blackcaps ODI team? This isn't the craziest idea and as fans, we should be open-minded given that Martin Guptill is consistently battling injuries and regardless of how Colin Munro goes in T20 cricket, no one should be convinced that Munro has his opener's spot locked down - not when he's taking the whack whack approach.
The main competition to be opening options could be between Latham and Nicholls. There are a few reasons for that line of thinking; they have opening experience and are certified internationals unlike Glenn Phillips and George Worker, plus any new batsman would probably be better suited to the middle order and reshuffling the batting line up may be a better option than having a ODI newbie opening the batting for a World Cup.
What is super weird here is that the possibility of Nicholls or Latham moving up to open, feels as likely as them losing their spots in the ODI team. As I said earlier, there are wicket-keeper/batsmen and batsmen-batsmen, maybe even all-rounders, who are gunning for those middle order roles and unless the versatility of Latham and Nicholls works in their favour, they may be ousted for others who demand ODI selection.
Much will depend on the ODI series vs Pakistan and how Latham and Nicholls start their summer after a long international break. If you're not keeping a close eye on Henry's performances with the ball, the work of his Canterbury comrades will be even more intriguing as coach Stead goes about attempting to win a World Cup.
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Peace and love 27.