While everything has been lovely for the Blackcaps ODI group under new coach Gary Stead with guys like Ish Sodhi and Lockie Ferguson snapping up their opportunities, the forgotten folk are battling to stay in the mix. We'll learn a lot about Stead's line of thinking when the squad to face India is announced as consistency vs rotation is a key narrative this summer, not only offering greater clarity around Stead's methods but maybe also individuals who are on the cusp.

My personal preference is for sensible rotation, basically translated to in-between consistency and rotation. Unfortunately for the forgotten folk, this line of thinking will leave them with little to no opportunities heading into the World Cup and unless Stead/Gavin Larsen replicate the antics of the Champions Trophy - players selected after not playing any ODI cricket in the summer, based on IPL form and no preparation in sussing out the wicket-keeper spot - it would be unwise to throw the forgotten folk into a World Cup.

This centres around me liking the ODI group at the moment and assuming that lads continue to roll out steady performances, there isn't much need for drastic change from what we've already seen. 15 players will be chosen for the World Cup and with 12 players used in the series vs Sri Lanka (Guptill, Munro, Williamson, Taylor, Nicholls, Neesham, Seifert, Southee, Ferguson, Henry, Sodhi, Boult), that leaves three spots up for grabs.

I'm not trying to suss out a 1st 11 for the World Cup here and this is important to remember when pondering the three vacant squad spots as the squad must be robust. The squad needs to feature players who can cover various roles, depending on injuries or perhaps game situations. With that in mind, Tom Latham has to be in the squad as someone who can bat anywhere in the top-six and also offer wicket-keeping. I also think Mitchell Santner should be in the squad, as a spinner and all-rounder.

The last spot is between Doug Bracewell and Colin de Grandhomme in my notebook. As always, you'll make up your own mind on these matters and that's fabulous (think for yourselves). 15 players will make up the squad, I'm going with 16 there as a conservative measure to suggest that those 16 players are most likely to form the World Cup squad.

This then leaves us with the forgotten folk.

Going back to the series vs West Indies at the start of last summer, players in that squad who aren't in my top-16; Todd Astle, Adam Milne, George Worker, Neil Broom.

Then came series vs Pakistan and England, which had no new names to throw in the forgotten folk bucket. The series vs Pakistan in United Arab Emirates was a bit weird as it was part of a long tour, with an Aotearoa A tour running parallel to the Blackcaps stuff and this was played in conditions far different to Aotearoa or England. Nonetheless, Ajaz Patel and BJ Watling featured in that squad, neither of whom are likely to be heading to the World Cup.

Watling could be an interesting option as part of the squad, given that he's like Latham but more experienced and that could be of value on the biggest stage. Unfortunately for Watling, he didn't play the first two ODI's and was due to bat in the third ODI before rain washed away the love (Latham was wicket-keeper). Now Watling's Northern Districts Knights apprentice Tim Seifert has looked reasonably impressive in the Blackcaps and the Seifert/Latham combo feels like the best option.

The forgotten folk group is led by Corey Anderson and if there is one bloke who is most likely to become a free folk guy, it's Anderson. Everyone knows that Anderson's a monster and highly capable all-rounder, but he must first and foremost be healthy and even then, it feels like this current Blackcaps group has moved on from Anderson. That's not to say that Anderson won't feature heavily after the World Cup; if all the free folk are doing their jobs, why lump Anderson in ahead of them?

Scott Kuggeleijn and Seth Rance are forgotten folk with the ball, along with Ben Wheeler. They have all dabbled in ODI cricket and add to Aotearoa's depth, although there is little to suggest that they deserve selection ahead of the current free folk.

Coming back around to the consistency vs rotation idea, any of these forgotten folk could be given a chance to state their case with runs/wickets vs India or Bangladesh. What's niggly for the forgotten folk though is that they have been overtaken in the pecking order; Milne needs to get healthy, even then Ferguson's been dominant under coach Gaz; Sodhi's loving life under coach Gaz and that's bad news for Astle; Neesham took his chances with bat and ball, so where does Anderson fit in?

All of which is delightful because competition for Blackcaps ODI spots is sizzling. Guys have to perform, or else someone will and if you ain't taking your opportunities, no World Cup for you. In a way, that manufactures some World Cup type of pressure (kinda) in the sense that it's perform or later bo.

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Peace and love 27.