Aotearoa's Blackcaps wrapped up their winter wandering in the Caribbean with an impressive victory over West Indies in a series decider, finishing 6-1 in ODIs and 9-1 in T20Is. The only losses came against West Indies and while the T20I loss was in the third game after Aotearoa had already won the series, the ODI loss was in the second game, providing an intense third game that the kiwis rallied to win.

Blackcaps T20I cricket continues to build towards the T20 World Cup. Aotearoa has an exceptional T20I outfit right now and the Caribbean provided tricky conditions for the kiwis to execute their skills and plans. While the quality of opponents on this tour mellows some of this hype, Aotearoa made the T20 World Cup final last year and could have a better team available for the upcoming event.

Matt Henry had to skip the West Indies tour due to injury...

An injury that probably came from gathering lots of wickets into his basket.#Blackcaps #WIvNZ https://t.co/9j4Wd0t9Xj
— The Niche Cache (@thenichecache) August 19, 2022

In ODI cricket, Aotearoa sits fourth in the World Cup Super League ladder with a handy 11-1 record. Aotearoa has the fewest losses of all 13 teams competing for automatic World Cup qualification which stems from playing against Bangladesh, Netherlands, Ireland and West Indies. Next up is an ODI series in Australia and Aotearoa will then host India in two series that will provide a greater test, with more insights to gather.

Aotearoa also host Sri Lanka this summer in Super League fixtures. Unless there is some kind of Blackcaps ODI disaster, Aotearoa should be all good for automatic World Cup qualification. All of which has Blackcaps cricket bumping back into groove after a niggly patch of Test cricket in which Aotearoa went 2-5, losing home Tests to Bangladesh and South Africa. Then Aotearoa went to England and got swept.

Test cricket is not on the hoist for inspection and it won't be for a few more months. Celebrating limited overs success against weaker nations feels a bit rude, but there is value in Blackcaps moving forward from that England Test series with mana. Part of the nuance in assessing this phase involves Blackcaps diving into a growing pool of depth and while this can impact results in hostile environments, there is a solid group of lads who now seem settled in international cricket.

Aotearoa used 15 lads in the Test series vs England. That includes Ajaz Patel and Neil Wagner who didn't do much. 19 players were used in T20I cricket after that England Test series and 21 players were used in ODI cricket. This flows into an upcoming Aotearoa A tour of India where the likes of Mark Chapman, Dane Cleaver, Jacob Duffy, Cameron Fletcher, Rachin Ravindra and Michael Rippon will be eager to build on their taste of Blackcaps kai.

Along with Patel and Wagner, there is intrigue around Colin de Grandhomme and Kyle Jamieson. Both were injured in the Test series vs England and haven't played since. While Patel and Wagner lean towards Test cricket, de Grandhomme and Jamieson are all-format contenders who could pop up in the ODI squad to face Australia or the T20 World Cup squad.

Devon Conway has the 3rd highest T20I batting average and is chasing 50+ averages in all three international formats.#Blackcaps #WIvNZ #CricketTwitter https://t.co/uu6E8Pdh93
— The Niche Cache (@thenichecache) August 15, 2022

Will Young and Henry Nicholls have also been curious absences, especially for the Caribbean portion of this winter tour. Young has 338 runs @ 56.33avg/116.55sr (1 x 100, 2 x 50) in England's One-Day Cup and continues to simmer in County Championship with 449 runs 2 44.9avg (1 x 100, 3 x 50). Nicholls had a knock of 79 in the third game against Ireland and dipped back to Aotearoa after that.

A key thread of Blackcaps cricket is player development as blokes get better once they’re in the Blackcaps environment, stacking confidence on top of hard mahi. Nicholls has played as an ODI opener before and while Young's probably a tier below in limited overs cricket, his inclusion in this yarn helps to highlight Finn Allen's development.

Allen is a certified slugger, although he's not quite as slick as Devon Conway who has the third highest T20I batting average ever. Conway is a monster and he will probably continue to open alongside Martin Guptill in T20Is, leaving Allen to grind and pounce on his opportunity. Allen flashed his slugging in T20I games this winter and also opened in ODI games. His knock of 96 (82sr) in the second ODI against West Indies saw Allen shine with a gritty innings, leading Aotearoa to a competitive total and a win to keep that series alive before Aotearoa won the decider.

Suzie Bates appears to back at her best cricketing mahi.

Not bad for the leading T20I women's run-scorer, who is also 4th for ODI runs.#WhiteFerns #CricketTwitter #OtagoSparks https://t.co/vrsA0ZOdVu
— The Niche Cache (@thenichecache) August 22, 2022

Despite dominating Super Smash, Allen hasn't kicked on in Plunket Shield and his Ford Trophy runs usually came via his slugging style. Now Allen is adapting to conditions, game scenarios and taking responsibility for setting up an innings when required. Allen can still fall back on slugging strokes to relieve pressure, although his development is evident in steadier knocks.

Daryl Mitchell keeps getting better, as he has done since making his Test debut. Mitchell was the most impressive kiwi batter vs England and he scored two 50+ knocks in four ODI games, while his 10 T20I games came with a record of 33.12avg/153.17sr.

Michael Bracewell does a solid bowling job but his batting in a lower order role is enticing, especially alongside Jimmy Neesham. Bracewell and Neesham were the only kiwi batters to finish this tour with strike-rates over 200 in T20Is. Of the five kiwi batters to score 150+ runs in ODIs this tour, Bracewell was the only one with a strike-rate over 100 and Neesham had the highest strike-rate for all the ODI lads with 194.44sr.

Bracewell and Neesham are bowling options, but their excellence in owning late innings situations compounds their value. Player development is evident here as Bracewell has demanded more opportunities at every juncture since his epic Super Smash campaign, while Neesham's batting strike-rate continues to climb each year; Neesham operated below 150sr in his first four years of T20I cricket, now in his fourth consecutive year over 150sr.

Still got you undies in a twist about Neesham's contract? Those contracts don't matter to us and Neesham's played 12 games without a contract, smacking runs with a bonkers strike-rate and even pouncing on a ODI opportunity.

Bracewell's bowling shouldn't be relied upon for lots of overs, but his batting and sporadic overs alongside Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi is a lovely combination. Sodhi didn't get many ODI reps and finished as Aotearoa's best T20I bowler on this tour, while Bracewell settled into an ODI role with Santner, especially for spin friendly conditions.

Trent Boult will play Big Bash League this summer before another T20 league adventure and while it feels like this is a drastic change, Boult was already picking his spots for availability. This ensures that a bunch of bowlers are prepared to plug that hole, even if they aren't lefties and a spin-trio might absorb Boult's T20 absence moving forward, while Tim Southee might be hunting a return to ODI 1st 11 mahi.

Southee only played three ODIs and took 7w @ 15.42avg. Southee average 30+ in ODI bowling for nine consecutive years, averaging 40+ for three of the four years prior to 2022. That's why Southee wasn't a ODI 1st 11 trooper and if he can continue to sharpen his skillset as a veteran, it not only sets him up for an ODI push, this sets the tone for other players to chase improvements.

Glenn Phillips finished with the most T20I runs across this winter and no one should be surprised by this as Phillips has been the best T20 batter no one cares about. Phillips has consistently dominated England's T20 Blast and the Caribbean Premier League, perhaps the best CPL batter of the past five years. Neesham's T20I strike-rate is ranked sixth (165.84) and the next best current Blackcaps batter is Phillips (49th - 141.75sr), closely followed by Mitchell (51st - 141.59sr).

Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi are among the best T20I bowlers in the world and seem to be getting better#Blackcaps #WIvNZ #CricketTwitter https://t.co/7OMIHwFkiO
— The Niche Cache (@thenichecache) August 11, 2022

Having established himself as a 1st 11 T20I lad, Phillips also got some ODI opportunities and made his ODI debut this winter. Phillips presents a pocket of growth for the Blackcaps as the improvement and development of players leads to selection in other formats. The talent of Phillips is obvious and his progress is to the point where Phillips should be hunting regular ODI squad selection.

Below are the best batters and bowlers from this Euro/Caribbean tour…