Three Key Blackcaps ODI Storylines Prior to Bangladesh Series
Before Blackcaps start their ODI series in Bangladesh on Thursday night, three storylines have emerged from the series defeat in England. Don't buzz too much about losing to England as the World Cup is in vastly different conditions and the wider ODI mix for Blackcaps will be trimmed, concentrating on the best lads to win World Cup games.
While Bangladesh offers similar conditions to India where the World Cup will be played, Blackcaps still have a squad full of kiwi cricket depth. Finn Allen, Tom Blundell, Chad Bowes, Dane Cleaver, Henry Nicholls, Dean Foxcroft, Cole McConchie, Kyle Jamieson, Adam Milne and Blair Tickner are in Bangladesh as players outside the World Cup squad. Of the 15 Blackcaps in Bangladesh, five will move into the World Cup squad; Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson and Trent Boult.
One bloke who is taking a deserved break is Daryl Mitchell. Mitchell was the best batter against England with 196 runs @ 65.3avg/104sr and he leads Blackcaps ODI batters for runs this year with 652 runs @ 43.4avg/92sr. Mitchell has played 16 games this year and Tom Latham the only bloke who has played more games (17), also sitting as the only Blackcaps to score 1,000+ ODI runs since the start of 2020…
Tom Latham: 35inns, 1,247 runs @ 41.5avg/91sr
Daryl Mitchell: 26inns, 1,025 runs @ 46.5avg/92sr
Kane Williamson is Aotearoa's best batter ever and he has 422 runs @ 46.8avg/70sr in 11inns since the start of 2020. This year Williamson has played three games with 164 runs @ 54.6avg/79sr as another mark of his class, although Williamson is returning from a hefty knee injury and there is uncertainty loitering around how many World Cup games he will play. Mitchell has snuck in as the Blackcaps best ODI batter ahead of this World Cup thanks to his availability and run-scoring.
Tim Southee is now battling a finger injury and like Williamson, professionalism and mana should ensure that Southee is alright to feature at the World Cup. How do Blackcaps absorb the loss of Southee if he is to miss a game or even the tournament?
Southee has only played six of 17 games this year, joining Williamson and Boult (8w @ 11avg in two games) as top-notch Blackcaps who have played less than half of the ODIs this year. Blackcaps can call up seamers like Kyle Jamieson or Adam Milne to plug a Southee hole, although the likeliest scenario seems to be tinkering with the 1st 11 depending on Southee's availability to play.
Boult, Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson can form a seam trio if Southee is unavailable. There is also a chance that three spinners are selected in the same team with Rachin Ravindra joining Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi. Jimmy Neesham offers seam bowling as well, while Glenn Phillips can chime in with his tweakers.
All sorts of combinations are on offer here. Across the ODIs in England and NZ A one-dayers in Australia, a funky spin situation emerged which could tie in with the possible Southee absence, otherwise it's just a funky situation. Ravindra was the leading Blackcaps spinner against England with 26ov, 7w @ 24avg/6.4rpo. Ravindra bowled in all four games while Santner bowled in just one game, with Phillips also appearing in all four games with the ball for 17ov (1w @ 107avg/6.2rpo).
Meanwhile in Australia, Adithya Ashok was battling injury and he didn't bowl in the three one-dayers. Dean Foxcroft operated as the leading spinner for NZ A and despite playing a smaller role than Ravindra with NZ A leaning into their seam attack, Foxcroft bowled in all three games. Foxcroft was more Phillips than Ravindra though with 1w @ 94avg/7.2rpo in his 13ov.
Regardless of how they performed, the last few weeks dished up a spin situation where the busiest kiwi spinners were Ravindra, Phillips and Foxcroft. Phillips in not in the Bangladesh squad with Cole McConchie joining Sodhi, Ravindra and Foxcroft as spin options. There isn't much World Cup context to breakdown in this funky spin situation but perhaps an increased workload for Ravindra could ensure he is ready to play a role in a big World Cup game.
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Peace and love.