2023 ODI World Cup: Perception vs Reality
Aotearoa's Blackcaps got their World Cup campaign started with a victory over England and a typically crafty display. The perception of Blackcaps is strange and differs greatly to the stories told about Blackcaps through The Niche Cache, so it seems as though we have to remind folks that the Aotearoa lads are good at cricket. Despite being the only team to play in the last two World Cup finals, then being the only team to play in the World Test Championship and T20 World Cup finals during the same cycle; Blackcaps are consistently underrated.
Defeating England in the first game epitomises this battle between perception and reality. Most importantly, Blackcaps once again rolled out a genuinely kiwi style of cricket in which they handle the basics better than their opposition and play with clarity in how they execute their mahi. Ponder all the words used over the past 24 hours to describe this win, then ponder how Blackcaps did that without Kane Williamson and Tim Southee; the leading ODI run-scorer and wicket-taker of the current crop.
You may want to ponder further and explore how Blackcaps defeated England with minimal mahi from their best cricketer right now Daryl Mitchell. Mitchell has scored the most ODI runs for Blackcaps this year and he has a higher Test batting average than Devon Conway (hold that thought), while also offering a crazy ODI bowling average of 21.3 this year - second only to Trent Boult of the World Cup squad.
How do Blackcaps win in such devastating fashion without their best players? By doing New Zealand sport things. Boult, Matt Henry and Mitchell Santner all bowled 25+ dot balls against England while no English bowler hit that mark. Blackcaps are the best fielding team at this World Cup and throughout both fielding innings it felt like Aotearoa had the better cluster of athletes compared to England. Blackcaps will be fitter, faster and more agile than most teams at this tournament.
Add in the preparation, adapting to situations as well as confidence of roles that have headlined their consistent excellence at major tournaments. Henry, Boult and Santner executed their plans. They stayed steady under pressure and showcased their quiver of tricks that is a sneaky wrinkle to track throughout the tournament; most Blackcaps bowlers can move the ball both ways.
Much has been made of the part-timers who combined for 20 overs against England. This was part of New Zealand's response to missing a Southee and Lockie Ferguson with other blokes willing to fill the void. Ferguson was specifically mentioned as being out injured but hearty kiwi cricket fans know that Ferguson may not be a 1st 11 bowler. The reality is that Ferguson has 8w @ 60avg/5.9rpo in ODIs this year, he's averaged 40+ in the last two years of ODI bowling with 80+ overs in both. IPL? Ferguson took 1w @ 96avg/12.5rpo this year.
Ferguson will play at this World Cup but he's not better than Henry, let alone Boult or Southee. Ferguson is a better bowler than Jimmy Neesham, but Neesham is a significant slugger and in true kiwi fashion, lads like Neesham and Glenn Phillips are willing to play their roles. There is a dose of reality in Phillips' bowling workload prior to this tournament as Phillips bowled in seven of his 12 ODIs this year (28ov, 5w @ 34.4avg/6.1rp) with his average and strike-rate being lower than Santner, Ish Sodhi and Rachin Ravindra.
This isn't a new wrinkle either as Phillips was bowling in ODIs last year and he has bowled in at least the last three NZ domestic summers in all three formats. Phillips isn't quite at the Ravindra level of bowling though as the youngster from Wellington has been brewed as a genuine all-rounder since his Test debut in India back in 2021.
In that debut Test series, Ravindra was a lower order batter who joined Ajaz Patel and Will Somerville as Blackcaps spinners. Ravindra was bowling overs for Wellington in his debut summer and has grown into a leading spin role for his domestic team, often playing as the main spinner ahead of leggy Peter Younghusband. This peaked last summer when Ravindra (230v) and Younghusband (24ov) took 7w each in Super Smash, while Ravindra bowled the most spin overs for Wellington in Ford Trophy (44ov) and Plunket Shield (165ov).
Who bowled the most overs for NZ at the 2018 Under 19 World Cup? Ravindra and he snared 13w @ 22.15avg/5.3rpo. Ravindra has bowled 76.3ov for Blackcaps so far this year and his rise through Aotearoa cricket has always been as an all-rounder. This skillset has seen Ravindra play multiple roles for Blackcaps with his early Test mahi coming in the typical all-rounder slot batting down the order, while he has batted in six different slots across ODI and T20I cricket for Blackcaps.
Six different slots in the batting order over the past two years of white ball cricket for NZ can be boiled down to the last week. Ravindra opened in the warm up game against Pakistan and as Blackcaps gave all their batters a crack in the next warm up game against South Africa, Ravindra batted down the order. Then Ravindra pops in at three for the first game of the World Cup.
All of this makes it tricky for Ravindra to find consistent performances as grows up in international cricket, yet there is a notable development boost on offer for a youngster as mature as Ravindra. Like his Blackcaps comrades, Ravindra is ready to bowl as many or few overs as required and he can genuinely bat any where in the line up. Ravindra is another team-first kiwi who has no issues playing the role his team needs.
The World Cup is a long tournament and there are plenty of 1st 11 combinations on offer for Blackcaps after this win over England. Don't cling to a line up as Blackcaps will select for conditions and various match ups. Ravindra is a funky lad in this equation because of his versatility and how he has experience for Blackcaps in different roles. Blackcaps selected Will Young for the World Cup to open alongside Conway and Young's niggly dismissal probably won't lead to a change at the top of the order.
This is the reality of Blackcaps cricket right now. Ravindra is a fabulous talent who was ready for this moment because of the fabulous Blackcaps development pipeline. Young is also one of four Blackcaps batters averaging over 40 in ODI cricket, joining Conway and Williamson in having List-A and ODI batting averages over 40 (Mitchell's a smidge below this with a LA average of 38.3).
Ravindra's good, so is Young and so are the Blackcaps. This is also evident in how many players can give 'world-class' a nudge of the Blackcaps World Cup squad. Williamson and Boult are certainties in this bracket, Southee has had an ODI resurgence in recent years to join Henry as the sneaky contenders. Mitchell has the highest Test batting average of all Blackcaps ever as well as the fifth highest ODI batting average for kiwis.
Conway's a monster though. Conway is currently eighth for ODI batting averages in the world (54avg) and ninth for T20I batting averages (41.6), while his Test average (50.1) is a mediocre 45th for all batters in the history of cricket. Virat Kohli is the only batter in the world who has a higher ODI and T20I batting average than Conway, yet Kohli has a lower Test batting average. In ODIs this year, Conway has 601 runs @ 66.7avg/102.5sr. Four centuries and another 50+ knock in 11 innings.
The perception of Blackcaps seems to be one of typical kiwi battlers. Plucky underdogs who handle the basics and generate enough momentum to benefit from luck. The reality is that Blackcaps excell in staying true to their identity, being great fielders and staying present in each battle. There is also a reality simmering beneath this veil where Blackcaps have a sneaky number of world-class cricketers who churn out stats we haven't seen too often. Add the best youngster from Aotearoa in Ravindra who has quietly built towards this moment and well, Blackcaps are pretty good at cricket.
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Peace and love.