Blackcaps take on England in the second ODI tonight after winning the first game of the series thanks to big donnie runs from Devon Conway and Daryl Mitchell. Blackcaps have now won three games in a row against England with two wins in the T20I series helping the kiwis bounce back since our last check in.

There was a significant shift in Blackcaps ODI batting as Will Young replaced Finn Allen in the openers slot alongside Conway. Blackcaps had persisted with Allen for 18 ODIs over the past two years for 31.35avg/95sr and while it's tricky to assess how this all came about, Young is now offered a crack at commanding selection in this role for the World Cup.

Young has an ODI batting average of 47.76 and that's bolstered by centuries against Netherlands, plus runs against Pakistan and Sri Lanka. One could highlight that Young hasn't scored runs against the world's best teams, yet Young has a List-A average of 42.42 and First-Class average of 40.12. Young is good at batting and while playing a different role to Allen, Young is a better pure batter.

This fits nicely into the Conway/Mitchell pocket. Conway has an ODI average of 52.75 along with a Test average of 50.10 while also averaging 40+ in all other formats. Mitchell has an ODI average of 49.84 and a Test average of 57.21, plus a FC average of 40.96. Along with Young, these three featured in the top-four against England with ODI batting averages rarely seen in Blackcaps cricket.

Henry Nicholls is the odd bloke out and he was batting third for Blackcaps in the first ODI. Nicholls has a LA average of 42.59 and that's his peak, while averaging below 40 in the five other formats. Nicholls averages 34.74 in ODI cricket and is an interesting geezer to ponder ahead of the World Cup squad announcement.

Nicholls is likely to be selected as batting depth, but he hasn't demanded selection. After a solid 36.69avg in 2019, Nicholls elevated to 52.25avg in 2020 and 40avg in 2021 before dipping down to 30.16 last year and 30.33 this year. At best, Nicholls is a squad batter but the uncertainty around Kane Williamson's involvement could help his case.

Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson and Rachin Ravindra took wickets for Blackcaps in the first ODI.

Southee took 2w @ 7.1rpo. After nine consecutive years averaging over 30 in ODIs, Southee is now in his second consecutive year averaging below 30. Southee has played his way back into the ODI 1st 11 after just one appearance at the 2019 World Cup and he has a fantastic record under Tom Latham's captaincy: 19.47avg/5.87rpo.

Ferguson was the best Blackcaps bowler for the 2019 WC (19.47avg/4.88rpo) and he has quietly ballooned out to 47avg/6.27rpo in ODIs last year, followed by 69.2avg/5.86rpo last year. Against England Ferguson took 1w @ 5.55rpo and he needs consistent wickets to seal 1st 11 selection.

Ravindra's 3w @ 4.8rpo against England offers all sorts of funk. Playing as the leading spinner with Glenn Phillips chiming in (4ov @ 4rpo), Ravindra ripped through Dawid Malan, Joe Root and Ben Stokes. This was just the fourth ODI in which Ravindra has bowled and he has snuck in with wickets across all four games he's played on tour in England.

Ravindra averages 50+ with the ball in Tests, FC and LA. This slides below 30 for T20Is and T20, with an ODI record of 34.42avg/6.42rpo. Blackcaps may want three spinners in their World Cup squad and Ravindra is the leading contender to plug the hole left by Michael Bracewell.

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Peace and love.