Blackcaps T20I Check In After Bangladesh Series
Blackcaps salvaged their T20I series against Bangladesh with a win in the third game aided by rain, drawing the series level at 1-1. There is a steady diet of T20I cricket on the radar and a few key pockets to explore from this series, as well as reflecting on 2023 T20I mahi. A list of Blackcaps and White Ferns 2023 ODI/T20I stats are available on our Patreon or paid Substack section for the generous supporters of The Niche Cache, amongst plenty more bonus content.
Mark Chapman finished 2023 as the best Blackcaps T20I batter. Not only was Chapman the only Blackcap to score over 410 runs (576 runs @ 44avg/141sr), he was the only bloke averaging over 35 and had a fabulous strike-rate. Chapman couldn't quite fire against Bangladesh with 20 runs @ 83sr in his two innings but he has established himself as a certified 1st 11er entering 2024.
Finn Allen's stocks have fallen. Even as Allen top-scored for the Blackcaps in the third T20I with 38 runs @ 122sr, he didn't look comfortable. Whether it a lack of timing in his slugging, another dismissal against Shoriful Islam or his collision with Chapman that wasn't a run-it-straight situation because Allen ran a big circle to find the collision; Allen looked wonky at the crease.
Allen finished 2023 with 21avg/136sr and one 50+ score in 10 innings. With his swashbucklin' style, Allen won't jack up big averages and the insight is in his strike-rates which have decreased from 190.24 in 2021 to 155 in 2022 and then the 136 mark last year.
One thing to track in conjunction with Allen's diminished slugging is Tim Seifert's solid slugging and wicket-keeping mahi. Seifert could command a 1st 11 wicket-keeping spot for the T20 World Cup if he maintains his efficient hitting and he finished second behind Chapman for T20I runs in 2023 (401 runs @ 33avg/154sr). Seifert and Allen have similar T20I/T20 stats so this could become a battle between these two for an opener's role, especially as Devon Conway and Kane Williamson will probably be 1st 11 T20I lads.
Jimmy Neesham is an excellent T20I cricketer. Neesham finished top-five for Blackcaps runs and wickets this year, with fantastic strike-rates of 152.5 (batting) and 15.8 (bowling). For context, Seifert was the only bloke with more runs and higher batting strike-rate while Tim Southee was the only bowler with more wickets and a lower bowling strike-rate.
Along with Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi who are excellent T20I bowlers, the seam trio of Southee, Adam Milne and Ben Sears offer intrigue. All three finished the series vs Bangladesh in a similar zone...
Tim Southee: 3w @ 13avg/5.1rpo
Adam Milne: 3w @ 20avg/8.8rpo
Ben Sears: 3w @ 21avg/8rpo
Sears played his only T20Is of 2023 against Bangladesh and has an enticing career record of 22avg/7.4rpo after nine T20I games. Southee and Milne finished top-five for wickets this year with averages in the low-20s, which has them as leading 1st 11 seamers. Milne has overtaken Lockie Ferguson in the T20I format which bumps Ferguson down to an intriguing second tier of T20I seamers including Matt Henry and Kyle Jamieson who had decent 2023 mahi...
Adam Milne: 14w @ 23avg/8.7rpo
Tim Southee: 13w @ 20avg/7.7rpo
Ben Lister: 10w @ 30avg/8.7rpo
Matt Henry: 8w @ 21avg/7.2rpo
Kyle Jamieson: 6w @ 21avg/8.3rpo
Lockie Ferguson: 3w @ 57avg/10.6rpo
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