2022 T20 World Cup: Blackcaps Perfection
Aotearoa's Blackcaps rolled out regular major tournament mahi in their win over Australia, sparking up the T20 World Cup spliff. Finn Allen (42 @ 262.5sr) and Devon Conway (92* @ 158.62sr) led the batting effort, taking the kiwis to a hefty total of 200/3 before all five bowlers used took wickets to dismiss Australia for 111. All five bowlers conceded less than 8rpo and all five Blackcaps batters had strike-rates over 100.
Kiwi cricket fans know exactly how Allen operates at as a T20 batter as Allen has been Aotearoa's best slugger for a few years now, peaking with 512 runs @ 193.93sr in the 2020/21 Super Smash. The Wellington duo of Allen and Conway finished as the leading run-scorers in that competition, now they are delivering the same dose for Aotearoa.
Allen's 145sr in the recent tri-series wasn't the highest for Aotearoa, but he did hit the most sixes of all three teams involved. Allen has a T20 career strike-rate of 172.78 and that is the fifth highest T20 career strike-rate ever (minimum 250 deliveries faced). None of the four players with higher T20 career strike-rates than Allen are at this T20WC.
Allen's T20I career strike-rate is 166.99 and that is fifth for all T20I players. Suryakumar Yadav has the highest T20I strike-rate in the world and he will line up for India, while the next three highest strike-rates are not at this T20WC. This leaves Allen with the second highest T20I strike-rate and highest T20 career strike-rate at this T20WC.
This is what Allen does, this is what his T20 career is built upon. Australia should not have been surprised, nor should any cricket fan be surprised by Allen's slugging confidence.
Folks may not know much about Conway either. Conway has the fourth highest T20 career average (44.44avg) ever and his not-out innings against Australia now gives Conway the highest T20I batting average in the world (57.38avg). Conway has the second highest T20 career average (behind Pakistan's Babar Azam) and highest T20I average at the T20WC.
Aotearoa has a genuinely elite strike-rate/average opening combination. Don't overlook Jimmy Neesham either as he cracked 26 runs @ 200sr and his T20I career strike-rate of 164.83 is ranked eighth for all T20I batters, but third for batters at this T20WC.
Aotearoa has two of the three best T20I strike-rates at this tournament.
These T20 wrinkles help, although Aotearoa's success at tournaments stems from hearty kiwi mahi. Aotearoa is usually among the best fielding teams at any tournament and as they elevated from a warm-uppy tri-series in Christchurch, Blackcaps fielding could be the best in this T20WC. This is also evident in the batting innings and while folks buzz about boundaries, Aotearoa flows with the situation.
After Allen's explosion, hitting the Aussie bowlers off their favoured lengths, Kane Williamson joined Conway at the crease. The buffet of boundaries slowed down as Williamson and Conway settled, starting with five dot-balls in the over after Allen's dismissal with a boundary from Williamson. Aoteaora will be among the best teams at running between the wickets, led by the class and composure of Williamson.
23 runs @ 100sr doesn't look sizzling, but Williamson played his role in the same way that everyone else executed their role. Williamson and Conway scored at least 7rpo in six of the next nine overs, barely taking a risk. Conway, Glenn Phillips and Neesham also flexed Aotearoa's running ability, only hitting one boundary (four or six) in each of the last seven overs.
Williamson has a T20WC record of 32avg/112.39 across 20 innings. With the power of Allen, Phillips and Neesham around him, Williamson's steady mahi is funky. Many folks will whinge about Williamson's approach, yet this was crucial at last year's T20WC and is a lovely kiwi wrinkle.
Then it's the same ol' Blackcaps bowling recipe. Michael Bracewell was the leading tri-series bowler, but Lockie Ferguson slotted in alongside the spin duo of Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi. Santner only played one game in that tri-series and took 3w @ 7.75rpo against Australia, while Tim Southee's 3w @ 2.76rpo is part of a wider trend.
A wider trend that is similar to Aotearoa's undercover T20I batting excellence. Southee has the most T20I wickets in the world, Sodhi is fourth and Santner is 17th. 18 bowlers have taken 80+ T20I wickets and Aotearoa is the only nation with three current bowlers in this group.
Since the start of 2020, eight bowlers have taken 50+ T20I wickets. Sodhi has 57 and Southee has 50, again making Aotearoa the only nation with two bowlers in this group of eight.
Southee is also in a career-best T20I pocket. Southee has a T20I bowling strike-rate of 17.6 and each of the last three years have produced improvement; 17.2sr, 16.2sr and 14.6sr.
Aotearoa now plays Afghanistan on Wednesday in a tricky contest.
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Peace and love.