For all the hooplah about White Ferns starting a new era under coach Ben Sawyer, everything feels the same as the previous regime after another ODI series defeat. White Ferns went down 1-2 to South Africa and despite being in strong positions throughout the first two ODIs, Aotearoa found ways to lose. Then came a win in the third game after the series was already lost.

White Ferns are now 2-4 in ODIs this year. This stretches out to 14-25 in ODIs since the start of 2020. Having lost the ODI series in Sri Lanka a few months ago, White Ferns have now suffered back to back ODI series losses and then are currently fifth in the ICC Women's Championship with a 5-5 record. The kiwis are mid-table in the Women's Championship as they are one of four teams who have played 12+ games. Australia and England are below NZ on the ladder having played less than 10 games for example.

Amelia Kerr was the best kiwi in this recent series, scoring 210 runs @ 105avg/79.5sr. There was growth in the mahi of Brook Halliday and Hannah Rowe who both reigstered 50+ scores. Meanwhile Lea Tahuhu continues her excellent mahi with 5w @ 23avg/5.1rpo and having been brushed aside from White Ferns matters a year ago, Tahuhu is the best kiwi bowler this year...

• T20Is: 24w @ 13.7avg/5.9rpo - 1st

• ODIs: 10w @ 20.1avg/4.9rpo - 1st

As noted in the Monday newsletter dispatch, A-Kerr is Aotearoa's best batter right now and she is putting up legendary mahi. A-Kerr has 499 runs @ 62.37avg/77sr in 12 innings of Women's Championship and she is the only White Fern to score more than 350 runs. This brings us to a few holes in the White Ferns team...

Sophie Devine and Suzie Bates didn't do much in the ODIs vs South Africa. Devine hit 47 runs @ 15.6avg/82sr and Bates celebrated her 300th appearance for Aotearoa with 24 runs @ 8avg/38sr. Add in Maddy Green's 48 runs @ 16avg/60sr and there was little support for A-Kerr in the White Ferns top-five batters. Georgia Plimmer chimed in with 19 runs @ 6.3avg/36sr which means that A-Kerr was the only top-five batter who scored 50+ runs and averaged 20+ in this series.

In ODIs this year, Devine's record is bolstered by a century. She scored 137 of her 241 runs in one knock while Bates has 116 runs @ 23.2avg this year. Bates also has a rather low strike-rate of 59.79 which is bonkers for a batter of her quality. Bates hasn't taken a wicket either this year and she has conceded 7.75rpo, second only to Molly Penfold's 9.66rpo as the most expensive White Ferns bowlers this year.

Bates is part of a spin group that is struggling under the guidance of 'spin guru' Craig Howard. The rise of A-Kerr as a world-class ODI batter has come at the expense of her ODI bowling and she took 2w @ 59.5avg/4.4rpo against South Africa, sitting on 3w @ 77.66avg/4.9rpo in ODIs this year. This is extra funky because A-Kerr is the busiest bowler for White Ferns having bowled the most overs against South Africa and in ODIs this year.

Eden Carson hasn't kicked on from her initial excellence for White Ferns. Carson took 1w @ 94avg/5.2rpo against South Africa and she has 3w @ 69.33avg/5.2rpo in ODIs this year. Fran Jonas was solid in her lone appearance for the third ODI after the series was already lost (1w @ 2.8rpo) and while this alludes to the continued theme of weird White Ferns selections, Jonas has 2w @ 56avg/4.9rpo in ODIs this year.

A-Kerr, Carson and Jonas should be an asset for White Ferns. Instead all three are averaging 50+ in ODIs this year while conceding more than 4.9rpo. Add in Bates who isn't making a dent in this spin attack and White Ferns struggle to take wickets; NZ didn't dismiss South Africa in their two losses and took 9/20 wickets on offer.

It seemed like change was in the air when Kate Anderson was selected for this series. Anderson is one of the few White Ferns who has dominated domestic cricket to gather confidence in who she is and what she does as a cricketer. Anderson didn't play though, meanwhile players who have done very little in domestic cricket to warrant selection continue to struggle.

White Ferns are 4-3 in T20Is this year and they are generally better in the shorter format. This wasn't on display in South Africa earlier this year when White Ferns were rolled for 76 by Australia and then 67 by South Africa in the T20 World Cup. Many of the stinky vibes can be fixed by a T20I series win over South Africa and dominant performances could suggest that coach Sawyer's influence is starting to settle.

The notable nugget to watch out for in T20Is vs South Africa is Devine. Bates and A-Kerr are the only White Ferns averaging 20+ in T20I batting this year, with Devine battling away on 70 runs @ 14avg/111sr. Devine is joined by Plimmer, Rowe, Halliday and Izzy Gaze in averaging less than 15 this year. Devine is also struggling with the ball as she is yet to take a wicket in the three games she has bowled this year. Joining Devine with no wickets are Penfold and Halliday, while Jonas has 1w @ 89avg/6.8rpo.

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Peace and love.