There's this thing that the NBA and even closer to home, the NRL has done very well in recent years and that's building up a year-long news cycle. Unfortunately kiwi cricket and the Blackcaps haven't quite got the memo. We haven't seen our Blackcaps play since the start of April, only a few months ago which isn't so bad by itself, but according to the gloriously fresh New Zealand Cricket website, we won't see our Blackcaps in action until the World Cup:

By my calculations, that's over a year. Of course, we'll see the Blackcaps before then as there is apparently a tour to United Arab Emirates or Malaysia to play Pakistan and we'll get a home summer afterwards. The point is not to discuss the Blackcaps schedule, it's that NZC can't muster the resource to update their own official schedule and that could be why ESPNCricinfo also has a lack of any Blackcaps cricket on their radar.

And so the hot-takes begin.

The Blackcaps don't have a coach, or any cricket scheduled.

Like, that straight up sounds weird. There are nuances to this and I'm not silly enough to think that there's major dramas in the search for a coach as NZC are going through their process and the schedule will sort itself out ... soon enough I guess? But to wind it back to the idea of staying in the news cycle, staying in front of people and maintaining momentum from a good/weird summer of cricket; NZC and the Blackcaps are ghosting.

Various Blackcaps and kiwi cricketers are playing in England, or have been in India which is cool. This could be viewed as NZC being super GC's and taking a back seat to let the lads enjoy T20 life, actually that makes a lot of sense as any mid-year tours would have had a heavy impact on IPL and T20 Blast opportunities.

From a fan's perspective, the fans who offer a portion of the money that NZC has made such a priority, I'm more engaged with following individuals and there is little Blackcaps context around that. Everything to do with the Blackcaps is in the shadows and the individuals are in the spotlight, as kiwi cricketers. In a weird way, I love that because I can follow individuals just has enthusiastically as I follow a team. This feels counter-productive for NZC though who you would assume would want the Blackcaps brand in your faces, in the headlines, in the spotlight.

We knew this was coming, we knew that a four Test summer would be followed by nothing. That alone feels incredibly silly, hence the Niche Cache was vocal in highlighting how silly it was at the time. Now we are in July 2018, the belly of the Taniwha and reflecting on the situation only leaves me even more confused; after a four-Test summer that kinda rubbed fans the wrong way, there ... is ... nothing.

The confusion for me stems from a business perspective. I feel as though playing cricket is good for business, if the organisation is creative and efficient in delivering their product. As sports fans, this isn't really a drama because we can enjoy other sports, a world of sports and if we want our cricketing fix, there's an abundance of kiwi cricketers and international cricket on to get giddy about. We just move on, something else fills our needs. None of which is beneficial to NZC and they are only hurting themselves with almost every decision they make.

NZC have made their financial position such a blatant priority, they have torn out the soul of kiwi cricket because they can't find other ways to earn dosh, or they simply only have the dosh as a priority and not the betterment of kiwi cricket. So, where's the cricket? My I'm a lunatic, yet it seems like lunacy to not have your best product in the spotlight from a business stand point.

Let's take a quick squizz at the cricketing world:

England vs India, West Indies vs Bangladesh, Sri Lanka vs South Africa, Zimbabwe vs Pakistan and Australia have been doing things as well.

England Lions vs India A and Bangladesh A vs Sri Lanka A?

Aotearoa is the only major nation not playing cricket right now, the almighty Bangladesh A and Sri Lanka A cricket programs are busier than the Blackcaps, let alone any Aotearoa A team. Zimbabwe are still a cricketing nation in crisis and they are somehow still playing cricket despite the predicament the players find themselves in.

But hey, at least NZC sussed out their Youtube presence?

Finally, NZC seems to have figured out that Youtube is a thing - just copy what England, Australia, Sri Lanka, South Africa, West Indies and Pakistan do on Youtube and you'll be sweet. It's that easy, the blueprint is laid out from numerous nations, with differing budgets, on how to use Youtube well.

Find out more about the ECB's partnership with Hardys at: ecb.co.uk/sponsors-and-partners/hardys Cricket can be played anywhere in the world, and Bramble bank is one of the more eccentric of venues! Watch as Stuart Broad umpired expertly by Miles Jupp play among the puddles with the local people of Bramble.

Sri Lanka were 277 for 9 wickets in 86 overs at a run rate of 3.22 runs an over at the end of the opening day's play of the second test match versus South Africa at the SSC grounds on Friday.

Sri Lanka U19 vs India U19, 1st Youth Test, Day - 4 📲 Follow on: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/srilankacricket Twitter: https://twitter.com/officialslc Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/officialslc 💻 Visit our website: http://www.srilankacricket.lk

Kraigg Brathwaite was one of many consistent performers vs Bangladesh and it was his high scores with the bat that laid the foundations of a series win. His back-to-back centuries were the first from a Windies player since 2009 - And that player was none other than Chris Gayle.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) hosted the annual Elite Fast Bowlers Group camp at the Powerade Centre of Excellence in Pretoria. Some of South Africa's best and rising fast bowlers attended the camp, which was focused on skills, strategy, fitness and conditioning.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) hosted the Women's Fast Bowlers Group camp at the Powerade Centre of Excellence in Pretoria. Some of South Africa's best and rising fast bowlers attended the camp, which was focused on skills, strategy, fitness and conditioning.

Mickey Arthur talks about the importance of fitness in cricket | PCB Pakistan's ever-improving fitness standards have greatly pleased Head Coach Mickey Arthur. The world-renowned coach talks about the importance of fitness, and why the Yo-Yo Endurance Test is an important benchmark for his team. More videos: http://www.pcb.com.pk/videos.html Welcome to Pakistan Cricket Board Official Page.

The NCA High Performance Camp is in full swing. The participating players are undergoing extensive training under the supervision of NCA trainers and coaches. Watch some of the highlights so far Welcome to Pakistan Cricket Board Official Page. Get All The Updates Regarding Pakistan Cricket Here.

Australia allrounder Glenn Maxwell is joined by T20 skipper Aaron Finch to speak about his world record innings as the Aussies visit Zimbabwe's underprivileged youth north of Harare

Life was put into perspective for Australia's T20 team when they visited a school at Hatcliffe Extension north of Harare as part of a Cricket Cares initiative in Zimbabwe

Shout out to NZC for getting some White Ferns highlights on there, from their recent tour to England. Great. Pity there is no recent Blackcaps content, well there kinda is as NZC's Youtube resurgence consisted of them dropping a bunch of last summer's highlights in a big spew of uploads this month. At least you can relive the rare candy of Blackcaps Test cricket from last summer.

And there is no coach. How do I feel about this coaching situation?

Bloody excited. The group of candidates is super impressive and whether it's Grant Bradburn, Gary Stead, Heinrich Malan or Mark O'Donnell, doesn't really matter. These coaches have all been successful in their respective roles and their knowledge of domestic cricket will be a low key huge benefit as kiwi cricket moves into a new era.

Maybe they are better coaches than Mike Hesson? It's impossible for a battler like me to know the answer to that and this is about as hot-takey as I can get, without discrediting the Niche Cache's reputation for hearty sports blogging. The proof may be in the pudding with who ever gets the Blackcaps job, if they ever get round to playing cricket.

Generally, I reckon the strength of cricket coaching in Aotearoa is immense and it aligns nicely with an opening for the Blackcaps role.

The Master Agreement between NZC and the players is also in the works. This appears to be going swimmingly, with no dramas and the players will get more money. Players getting more money for their services, services that are the sole reason why broadcasting money comes in, is always all good. I've got a consistent record of supporting players in such instances and as long as they are the product, they deserve as much money as they can get.

Beneath that though, is where things get funky. Money needs to be invested into men's and women's domestic cricket, far more development programs and tours, as well as crazy modern things like streaming domestic games, regular domestic highlights etc. Aotearoa has failed on the international stage in recent years in major tournaments, under-performed despite the talent on offer and investing in preparing a killer instinct to fulfill their potential and win major tournaments, will only bring in more money. This starts with development programs for men and women, of which we currently have very little that prepares these cricketers for high pressure performances against the world's best.

You want to know why there's not much Test cricket and plenty of white ball cricket for the Blackcaps? Maybe because NZC has to pay players $8,500 for every Test, compared to $3,700 for an ODI and $2,400 for a T20, just sayin'.

If you're NZC and you don't make money from a Test match - I prefer to say 'can't figure out how to make money from Tests' because there is a severe lack of creativity at NZC - and you have to pay players considerably more to play a Test than a T20, obviously you're gonna say 'fuck Tests'. And vice-versa; if you make more money from a T20 and pay the players considerably less, then 'haere mai T20s'.

To me, that seems like a logical conclusion to the lack of Test cricket. Especially with an organisation that is stuck in a box slaving away to finances.

Us kiwis also love to celebrate our equality and any time female athletes are contracted now, it's a great day for kiwi sport. White Ferns players apparently get $400 for an ODI and $300 for a T20, oh and because they are women they can't play Test cricket.

This is horrible, especially given how advanced we think we are as a nation. Like, wtf.

Even then, their contracts are what would otherwise be considered an entry-level job salary with the highest being mid-$30k.

We have a women's cricket team that could be the best in the world, could dominate all formats, even Test cricket if kiwi women were ever granted such a machoistic honour. The same applies for all women's sport in Aotearoa as we pat ourselves on the back for something like getting them contracts, but we're so far off equality, or pure good will that it's kinda disgusting.

Imagine if the White Ferns got paid like actual international cricketers and how good they could be. Imagine if non-T20 guns didn't have to work other jobs and could solely focus on being the best cricketers they could be. What's if women's domestic cricket was a thriving hub of women's sport in Aotearoa that provided opportunities for women.

All of that would not only reflect well on NZC, it might make them some money as well.
Invest, invest in the future of the game in Aotearoa. For some reason the word invest is pouring out of my soul right now ... because ... everything feels like it's being done for short-term gain.

There is no thought to invest in all aspects of kiwi cricket with the future in mind, knowing that the return on such investments would be huge.

We have no Blackcaps cricket.

Domestic cricket has routinely been neglected.

What regular 'A' tours?

What are the next wave of White Ferns being given to develop into world-class cricketers?

How are polynesians and maori being encouraged to play cricket?

What is being done to expose that kid who spends hours on Youtube to kiwi cricket?

We are a cricketing nation. The Land of the Long White Cloud that has consistently fought above its weight on the cricket pitch. Aotearoa has a Blackcaps team and White Ferns team that could win a World Cup tomorrow ... they could. The world loves the Blackcaps, Indians froth over our lovely kiwi lads and kiwi cricket in general is a beacon of joy on the international cricketing landscape.

Invest in that, aim higher. Aotearoa may never wield a big willy at the power-centric ICC meetings, but we can carve our own niche as being a cricketing powerhouse based on performance, leadership (leading the way with equality) and being a vessel for the spirit of the game. Then, they come to us.

Right now though, David Warner is playing cricket in Australia's Northern Territory and we're left to watch on as the cricketing world has fun.

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Peace and love 27.