Aotearoa's Blackcaps have played eight Tests against England since the start of 2015 with four wins, three draws and one loss. Of course these are only two-Test series because we're dealing with little ol' Aotearoa and in each of these four series, the Blackcaps have grabbed a win. Considering that the last time the kiwis played a series in England they left with a hearty drawn series, the win overnight gave the Blackcaps a fresh angle of touching up the Poms on their home turf.

That second Test was a thing of beauty. While the first Test was a bit more niggly, gritty Test cricket with some flashy individual moments, the Blackcaps showcased their skill and team culture vibes in wrapping up a win in four days. Trent Boult is a mandatory 1st 11 seamer so he's a bit different to the rest of these lads but all the blokes who came in for the second Test chimed in with wickets or runs.

Boult, Matt Henry and Ajaz Patel came into the bowling attack. Boult took a total of 6 wickets, Henry took 6 wickets and Patel finished with 4w. Daryl Mitchell didn't have to do much with bat or ball and in winning this second Test, those three bowlers took 16 of 20 wickets. The two main wicket-takers in the first Test were Tim Southee (7w) and Kyle Jamieson (3w) who took 10 of 13 wickets. That's an Aotearoa cricket team who swapped out their bowling attack and were far too slick for England; meanwhile James Anderson took 3w @ 68.66avg.

The only bowler to chip in across both Tests was Neil Wagner. Low key great series for Wagnut...

1w, 2w, 1w, 3w with scores of 25*, 10 and 0.

Will Young came into the team and hit a composed 82 along with 80's from Devon Conway and Ross Taylor. Tom Blundell again showed his Test credentials with a solid 34, while Mitchell couldn't quite grab his opportunity. No dramas there because Kane Williamson didn't 'take his opportunity' with scores of 13 and 1. Tom Latham was fairly quiet as well with scores of 23, 36, 6, 23*.

I believe we are dealing with a high quality team culture here with the Blackcaps. I'm feeling All Blacks vibes, Canterbury Crusaders, Melbourne Storm kinda vibes from the Blackcaps as I've noted for a few years as lads like Blundell, Young and Henry ran drinks with nothing but smiles on their dials waiting for their opportunity. In this Blackcaps team big knocks and wickets are definitely welcome. Ross Taylor upping the strike-rate while being out of form in the first Test just to put his team closer to a win was another clear example of this and while Latham didn't pass the half-century mark, he did his job at the top of the order.

Latham faced less than 30 deliveries just once in this series. When other blokes are stepping in to the team and scoring runs, that type of stability is immense. A lot of energy is being directed to the Blackcaps depth and fringe players, although everything about this team stems from the leadership and this core found ways to chip in even if they weren't grabbing the headlines.

Those headlines are now throwing up ideas of 'WTC Final selection conundrums'. With all these blokes coming into the team and performing, along with a steady vibe of looking forward, this breezes over the essence of the Blackcaps under captain Williamson. Building out a group of 17+ Test players to take a small cricketing nation into battle against the three nations who run cricket requires a team-first approach, lack of egos and everything pushing in alignment regardless of where they sit in the group.

Young's never kicked up a stink, nor has Patel. Henry has put years of mahi stuck behind the greatest seamers Aotearoa's ever had. Blundell was the Blackcaps Test opener until a few weeks ago and the thought of any bitterness or niggle from this pocket of players never entered my brain. These lads have bought into the direction of the team, the team's values and how they operate. The fact that apart from Conway who made his First Class debut in 2009, these players all made their FC debuts between 2011-2013 is crucial here and they have been maturing in domestic cricket.

When dealing with such a team, there is always plenty to learn and take with you on your daily travels. Maybe you'll ponder how to build a team where new players are put in positions to succeed and new players flourish when stepping up to this team. Maybe you'll ponder how to hang in there no matter the situation like matua Taylor, maybe you'll ponder how to keep learning and adding new skills like Southee or Boult.

Now, more than ever I'm deep in Williamson vibes. The relaxed yet tough Williamson doesn't do much else than stay in the present. Every Test is to be celebrated, every delivery out in the middle is a chance to do what he loves in batting. You'll hear and read all about the WTC, yet Aotearoa has just smoked England in England and England can't really hang with Aotearoa in Test cricket. With or without the WTC we are dealing with the best Blackcaps Test team I've experienced and there's no need to wander into the future when the present moment is so beautiful.

Almost Daily Blackcaps Podcasts coming in hot on Patreon.

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