Yesterday there was a wee dive into some of the Ford Trophy bowlers who did nifty mahi in the first stanza, today it's all about the batsmen. There is a lovely balance between bat and ball for Auckland Aces, hence they sit in 1st on the ladder and the power in Auckland's top-order has gone a fair way to setting up their wins and creating a tempo that opposition batsmen have to follow.

None of which should be all that surprising when talking about Martin Guptill, Colin Munro and Glenn Phillips. Guptill's one of Aotearoa's best white-ball batsmen ever, while Munro and Phillips live life on the T20 circuit; all three love to bully domestic bowlers. Here are some stats from these three domestic freaks...

Colin Munro: 1st in runs, 5inns, 326 runs @ 65.20avg/144.24sr.

Glenn Phillips: 2nd, 4inns, 288 runs @ 72avg/94.11sr.

Martin Guptill: 6th, 5inns, 229 runs @ 45.80avg/88.75sr.

It's not crazy to suggest that we know what Munro and Guptill are all about, although I'd add that for Munro this means that we know he is a monumental domestic cricket batsmen who right now is struggling to perform in ODI and T20I cricket. Averaging 51.58 in First-Class cricket with a strike-rate of 98.79 makes you a unicorn and having done a fair bit of writing about Munro's dip in Blackcaps production, there is a rather clear gap between these two arenas for Munro.

All of which can change in Munro scores steadily for Aotearoa, which would be a hefty u-turn in how things have been trending. Point being that we know what Munro and Guptill are about and where they sit in Aotearoa's cricketing landscape. Coming into this season, I was intrigued about Phillips and whether he could kick on from a low key impressive Plunket Shield last summer, as well as decent work in Caribbean Premier League.

Phillips has scored 50+ in three different formats this summer. Starting with 51 in one of his three Plunket Shield innings, Phillips then hit 116 vs England for Aotearoa A and slid in Ford Trophy with scores of 26, 40, 156 and 66. This season, Phillips has 9inns with no single-digits scores, six scores of 30+ and four scores of 50+.

For those tickled by how Phillips can whack a cricket ball from anywhere on the crease to anywhere around the boundary, factor in his long-form work to you assessment of Phillips. The century vs England came with a strike-rate of 52.96 and after his two Plunket Shield games, Phillips had a strike-rate of 64.39, which highlights how Phillips flows through the formats accordingly.

For those tickled by how Phillips can whack a cricket ball from anywhere on the crease to anywhere around the boundary...

It's been a tough start for Central Districts Stags and yet Dane Cleaver continues to be a major factor in domestic cricket, despite not much appreciation for his standing as one of the best wicket-keeper/batsmen in Aotearoa. Cleaver sits 3rd in runs, averaging 53.60/86.17sr and in 5inns, Cleaver has four scores of 20+ with an 83 and 108 leading the charge.

Cleaver has tended to lean into Plunket Shield runs, averaging 38.20 in FC and his List-A average sits at 29.89. The Stags have usually relied on their stacked batting line up, then powerful all-rounders to do the damage, at the moment though they are down on troops and Cleaver was bumped up to open for four of the five games played. When Cleaver did drop back down the order, he hit his century.

The Stags have been led nicely by their experienced batsmen as Cleaver is joined by George Worker in scoring a century and a half-century in 5inns. Worker is 5th in runs, while Tom Bruce had a string of 50+ scores (three) in his 5inns, with a strike-rate of 111.22. I've also dipped into 'Brad Schmulian watch' after Schmulian added to his already funky domestic record, after three 50+ scores in three consecutive Plunket Shield games.

Schmulian made his List-A debut last week, playing two Ford Trophy games with scores of 31 and 61*. After averaging 39.90 through 13 FC games, Schmulian now has a tiny-sample-size LA average of 92 and a slick strike-rate of 108.23.

The youngsters have also made waves with Jack Boyle, Henry Cooper and Rachin Ravindra all catching attention. Boyle is 23yrs, from Canterbury and absolutely loves himself some Ford Trophy cricket as he averaged 55.40 in last season's Ford Trophy in five games and now after five games this season, Boyle is averaging 64 and is 4th in runs. Boyle almost hit two centuries in five games, with notable knocks of 126 and 92.

Boyle has a FC average of 17.58 through 13 games vs a LA average of 47.06 after 17 games, while Northern Districts Knights batsman Cooper is the other way round. Cooper caught my eye as a crafty Plunket Shield opener, averaging 37.91 after 22 games and after settling into the Knights middle order for Ford Trophy, Cooper had two 70+ scores and a 45 in his 5inns.

Cooper also has a strike-rate of 103.65, making him one of four batsmen who have 200+ runs with 100+ strike-rates. With a LA average of 22.84, now boosted by this start to Ford Trophy, there were little signs of Cooper having the ability to perform in both formats, but he has done exactly that this summer and along with Wellington's Ravindra, these two are shaping as Aotearoa's funkiest prospects.

Rachin Ravindra's summer thus far:

Two Plunket Shield games, 115 runs @ 38.33avg/47.52sr.

Four Ford Trophy games, 200 runs @ 50avg/113.63sr.

Ravindra averages 30-ish in both formats to start his domestic career and is the only one of these three youngsters who has played T20 cricket at this level. Ravindra's attacking prowess suggest he should go alright in Super Smash, while Boyle and Cooper are unknown quantities and all three have a level of intrigue as to how he move into the shorter format.

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Peace and love 27.