Blackcaps T20I Landscape Reality Check
There are seven Super Smash games left, which gets sliced down to three more games for Auckland Aces and Otago Volts, two more games for the other four teams. While there is funk in how the Super Smash competitive winds up, the big business here is Blackcaps T20I selection for the series against Australia and sorting out the best T20I squad for upcoming T20 World Cups.
Australia have named their T20I squad and this is important in setting up how we view the trans-Tasman T20 battle. Of course, it will be rather fun to have Aotearoa vs Australia T20I cricket and there will be some epic cricket played. At the same time, it needs to be noted that Australia will have their T20I squad in Aotearoa and at the same time, Australia's Test squad will be in South Africa.
All up, Australia have named 37 cricketers across both squads. Keeping it a full steak and cheese pie means that some of Australia's best T20 players won't be in Aotearoa and thus, kiwis need to keep a lid on their T20 World Cup hopes stemming from this Australia series. Not that it is a weak Australia T20I squad as the likes of Aaron Finch, Glenn Maxwell, Adam Zampa, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Marsh and the Big Bash League's leading wicket-taker right now Jhye Richardson etc are all named. Plus, it's Australia after all.
No Test players will be in Aotearoa though and I'd suggest that the team we see in Aotearoa will be a bit different come major tournament time. That's merely something to store away in your kiwi cricket pocket and it won't impact how we trying and gauge Blackcaps performances as we sort through the best Aotearoa T20 group. Having seen the Blackcaps roll through 20+ players in recent T20I squads, there is no shortage of Blackcaps options in T20 cricket and it's time to start laying this out clearly.
All of this is brain-storming. Let's start with a Blackcaps T20I 1st 11...
Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson
Tim Seifert, Devon Conway
Glenn Phillips, Jimmy Neesham
Mitchell Santner, Kyle Jamieson
Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson
Trent Boult.
Obviously there are various points of intrigue within that 1st 11 and I present it solely as a brain-storming exercise. Ol' mate Guppy needs some runs, Lockie Ferguson needs to play cricket, Jimmy Neesham is recovering from a mangled finger and yeah I love Kane Williamson. Taking into account recent selections and all other Aotearoa cricket factors, that feels like a solid group of Aotearoa's best 11 T20 cricketers.
Ish Sodhi and Colin Munro are the closest to cracking that 1st 11. Sodhi is yet to play Super Smash cricket this summer and he should be in any Blackcaps T20I squad, let alone teaming up with Santner for the Blackcaps spin combo. Sodhi can easily be injected in place of a batsman via the plethora of all-rounders, or Sodhi can gain selection ahead of a seamer.
Munro is battling away in the Big Bash League where he is currently 5th in total runs (411 runs @ 34.25avg/129.65sr), playing for Perth Scorchers who finished 2nd on the ladder heading into BBL finals. You may not be a fan of Munro, scorned by watching good bowling attacks tie him up before Munro explodes in frustration and tosses his bat in the air. You may place a greater weight on Munro's BBL exploits than any Super Smash run-scoring as BBL is a better competition. Either way, Munro is in Aotearoa's top-15 T20I group.
Munro could be there to pounce on Guptill's lack of form. Then again, Munro went outside the box in taking up a BBL gig and that may have some niggly residue with NZC which would see the likes of Seifert or Conway get a crack at opening. Smells complex huh? What about Ross Taylor - who I believe has immense value with his skillset and experience, even more so for T20 World Cups?
Also complex. Taylor needs a hefty finish to the Super Smash to really stamp his foot down and command selection. I don't have Taylor in my 1st 11 today, although if the task was to build a 1st 11 for a T20 World Cup semi-final or final, I'd rather have Taylor than Phillips or Conway based on that experience in the middle order. Ultimately, the point isn't to debate the value of Sodhi, Munro or Taylor as they form a group who are sniffing around the fringe of that 1st 11.
That gives us 15 lads.
The four leading Super Smash bowlers are Blair Tickner, Scott Kuggeleijn, Matt Henry and Hamish Bennett. All four have played T20I cricket previously, although Henry hasn't played since 2017 while the other three have all played this summer at some stage. Any one of these four can cover seamer spots and one, maybe two will be required in a squad but we're already at 15 blokes prior to this paragraph.
Doug Bracewell is low key one of the Super Smash's monsters, right there with Daryl Mitchell. For context, here is how they stack up with Neesham...
Runs
Bracewell: 155 runs @ 51.66avg/191.35sr.
Mitchell: 206 runs @ 34.33avg/133.76sr.
Neesham: 65 runs @ 16.25avg/108.33sr.
Wickets
Bracewell: 10w @ 23.70avg/8.46rpo/16.8sr.
Mitchell: 7w @ 24.28avg/8.64rpo/16.8sr.
Neesham: 8w @ 16.25avg/6.96rpo/14sr.
Bracewell can genuinely take the place of a seamer mentioned above, while Neesham and Mitchell are better suited to middle order roles; likely to bat, unlikely to bowl 4 overs. Bracewell and Mitchell have legit international cricket experience and their cricket package would be a boost to the balance/style of Blackcaps T20I antics. None of these dudes have the x-factor of Jamieson, but there is a solid nature to their work that may prove to be as valuable over time. Now we're at 21 lads named and while we're still dealing with seamers, Jacob Duffy is yet to feature.
Don't expect Duffy to play another T20I game soon unless there is an injury or someone is unavailable. After whipping Southland into a frenzy with his T20I debut, Duffy returned to the Super Smash with 3w @ 79.66avg/9.56rpo/50sr and regardless of what form he is in; where almost 10 bowlers deep already.
Todd Astle made the most recent T20I squad and may benefit if Sodhi is still injured. I won't get into the nitty gritty of who the third best T20 spinner is in Aotearoa as Astle has been around the white-ball Blackcaps a lot more than Will Somerville and Ajaz Patel. It won't come to this, but Somerville and Patel are proving to be handy Super Smash spinners.
My deeper batting options are Mark Chapman, Will Young and Tom Blundell as a wicket-keeper/batsman. If the Blackcaps need an opener, it'll probably be Munro. If they need a middle order batsman, it'll probably be Taylor. These lads all have the ability to play T20I cricket (Chapman has), but we are dealing with players ranked outside the top-20 and for someone like George Worker who leads all run-scorers in the Super Smash; unluggy uce.
This brain-storm leaves me leaning away from anything drastic happening with Blackcaps T20I selection. If jokers like Chapman and Worker are down the pecking order, then it is highly unlikely that younger players we are seeing in the Super Smash will be Blackcaps factors. Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Ben Sears (Wellington), Josh Clarkson (CD Stags), Duffy (Otago) and a cluster of other solid Super Smash performers should all be noted but realistically they are outside the top-25.
Over the past few summers, anyone and everyone has played T20I cricket for the Blackcaps. This is largely due to more T20I cricket than the other formats, balanced with a priority of preparing players for Test cricket. When the big donnies need a break for Test cricket, the Blackcaps dive deeper into the pool of players for their T20I team and the Blackcaps have been fairly competitive throughout that process.
Other than Taylor's runs, Sodhi's return or key Super Smash narratives of a similar style, it's hard to see how Super Smash cricket will impact Blackcaps T20I selection in the short-term. In the coming summers as we settle back into that rest/re-fresh rotation, all the younger players or fringe players will get their opportunities. A focus on T20I cricket though means that we rely on Aotearoa's top-tier and it's hard to argue when you bask in the talents of that top-tier.
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Peace and love.