Blackcaps had wins against Worcestershire and Gloucestershire in England over the weekend, after winning the T20I series against UAE. The T20I series against England starts later this week and we will keep tracking all Blackcaps antics leading into the World Cup. Here are five pockets of intrigue from the recent action…

Kyle Jamieson continues to gather overs ahead of the World Cup. After playing all three T20Is against UAE and bowling 9.4 of a possible 12 overs, Jamieson rolled through 3ov in the T20 vs Worcs with 3w @ 7rpo. Jamieson didn't play the second game against Gloucs, but he has now played in four of the five games on offer and has at least a wicket in six consecutive games stretching back to the end of last summer. Jamieson is locked in for the T20Is against England and it will be interesting to see if Jamieson can continue his best year of T20I bowling.

Glenn Phillips was the best batter for Blackcaps with scores of 32* @ 213sr and then 65* @ 176sr. Phillips didn't play the UAE series as he was playing in The Hundred where he offered 98 runs @ 16.3avg/126sr. Last year was massive for Phillips as he played the T20 World Cup can smacked 716 runs @ 44.7avg/156sr before struggling in the cheeky tour of India where he played three T20Is with 24 runs @ 8avg/61sr. In ODI cricket, Phillips has played 16 games over the last two years with a solid record of 31.9avg/90.7sr to set him up for a crack at the World Cup 1st 11. Upcoming games against England could determine the opportunities Phillips gets for the World Cup.

Rachin Ravindra only bowled in one of the T20Is against UAE with 1ov @ 8rpo, while batting in all three games down the order with a strike-rate of 144. This flipped to batting in the top-order against the County teams, batting third against Worces and opening against Gloucs. Ravindra also bowled in both games and churned out 7 of a possible 8ov with 4w overall. Ravindra is one of four Blackcaps to play 11+ T20Is this year and the different roles he's played in UAE and now England should offer a development boost. Ravindra has only played five ODIs this year and while he still seems outside a 15-lad World Cup squad, sizzling form could see him earn selection as a versatile all-rounder.

Ben Lister the lefty has played all five games on tour, although he hasn't taken a wicket in three of them. Lister has also played 10 T20Is this year and just one ODI as he gains experience in a role where there isn't much depth. With Neil Wagner stashed away in longform cricket, Lister is the second lefty seamer in the Blackcaps depth chart behind Trent Boult. It's highly unlikely Lister makes a swift leap up the World Cup pecking order and he is not in the T20I squad to face England. He is however getting lots of game time and fixed up his 3ov @ 7.3rpo vs Worcs to bounce back with 4ov, 1w @ 4.5rpo against Gloucs.

Dane Cleaver was the wicket-keeper in both T20s over the weekend with Tim Seifert playing as a top-order batter. Seifert was pretty good with scores of 30 @ 187sr and 32 @ 160sr as he continues his return into Blackcaps cricket with 48.4avg/167sr in T20Is this year. Cleaver was batting down the order as the wicket-keeper and despite having scores of 4, 0 and 12* on tour, Cleaver has been the wicket-keeper in all four games he's played. Cleaver is not in the T20I squad to face England and with wicket-keepers like Tom Latham (ODIs vs England), Seifert, Devon Conway and perhaps Finn Allen in the squad, while Tom Blundell and Cleaver are back in Aotearoa, with Cameron Fletcher in the NZ A team ... there is plenty of wicket-keeping depth on offer.

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