Two wins over Sri Lanka gives Aotearoa the top spot in the World Cup Super League, meaning that this little nation is still one of the best cricketing countries in the world. In favourable kiwi conditions the Blackcaps bowlers dismissed SL for 76 in Auckland and 157 in Hamilton, while the batters found enough runs to ensure two victories.

Henry Shipley snared 8w @ 7.87avg/4rpo as the leading wicket-taker in this series and he didn't even get to bowl on his home deck in Christchurch. For those new to the Shipley experience, this series showcased what has made him such a tricky bowler to deal with in domestic cricket. Shipley's action hurries batters while also enjoying extra bounce and Shipley has developed his craft of attacking the stumps with ample nibble either way.

Stack this ODI mahi on top of a rather impressive domestic season...

Ford Trophy: 13w @ 13.92av/4.41rpo
Super Smash: 8w @ 16.25avg/8.38rpo
Plunket Shield: 19w @ 27.21avg/3.39rpo

These conditions also helped Daryl Mitchell the bowler and he snared 5w @ 8.8avg/4.4rpo, while Matt Henry was typically excellent with 3w @ 8.66avg/1.62rpo. At the end of this WCSL cycle, Henry finishes as the best Blackcaps bowler with 27w @ 20.14avg/4rpo. In his ODI career Henry has 119w @ 25avg/5.1rpo which is is fabulous.

As far as bowling goes though, there isn't much from this series to take forward into future ODI stuff for Blackcaps. The World Cup will be held in India later this year and Blackcaps will return to Pakistan to play five ODIs next month, after winning the WCSL series 2-1 earlier this year. Blackcaps will deploy different players and different strategies for the World Cup, so don't cling to these performances in Aotearoa too much.

Neither spinner used in this series took a wicket. Ish Sodhi bowled 8 overs @ 5rpo and Wanindu Hasaranga bowled 14ov @ 6.35rpo. The seamers took all the wickets and seaming all-rounders got extra overs for both teams, which probably won't be the case throughout this year of ODI cricket. Rachin Ravindra is behind Sodhi, Mitchell Santner and Michael Bracewell in the kiwi spin ranks and he didn't bowl in this series.

After Ravindra's knock last weekend, our Monday newsletter and Tuesday's Variety Show highlighted his status as Wellington's best batter this summer. Ravindra will be a factor in Pakistan and Blackcaps could brew four spin options, perhaps Glenn Phillips as well for the World Cup. All these spinners offer different levels of batting - Sodhi has flashed his batting ability as recently as the Pakistan tour.

Finn Allen hit a 51 @ 104sr in the first game, along with Ravindra's 49 runs @ 94sr. Will Young's 86* and Henry Nicholls' 44* steered the kiwis to victory in the third ODI. Blackcaps rolled out a batting line up of Allen, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Mitchell, Tom Latham, Bracewell and Phillips in the Pakistan series. Young and Nicholls are outside the ODI 1st 11 right now but the depth has been on show.

Young has been low key fantastic this summer...

Ford Trophy: 268 runs @ 89.33avg/102sr, 1 x 100, 1 x 50
Super Smash: 145 runs @ 29av/165sr, 2 x 50
Plunket Shield: 279 runs @ 31avg, 1 x 100, 2 x 50

Blackcaps finish the WCSL with Williamson, Young, Latham and Conway averaging 40+. Nicholls, Phillips, Bracewell and Mitchell are averaging 35-40. Young is a versatile batter who carries blatant class into all positions and Nicholls has been a trusted option throughout the unit. Chad Bowes couldn't quite snap up his opportunity but he'll keep battling and add top-order depth, while Tom Blundell's frisky batting style not only has him adding wicket-keeping depth but also a batting option that can plug holes.

T20I performances will help us learn about this second-tier of Blackcaps and wins will amplify the positive vibes. There will be lots of T20I action to digest in the coming weeks, yet Blackcaps cricket is skewing towards ODI matters at the moment. The likes of Latham, Henry and Mitchell feel like 1st 11 ODI lads right now, with Sodhi the best option to deploy alongside Santner.

Young and Nicholls are strong squad batters hunting more 1st 11 opportunities. Shipley, Ravindra and Blair Tickner could play their way into the best possible ODI squad with Bowes unlikely to leap ahead of the best batters right now. Perhaps all of this can change over the next month or so and the ODI series in Pakistan will present a better gauge of how the Blackcaps World Cup squad could look.

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Peace and love.