Blackcaps vs Pakistan T20I Series Debrief
Since the mid-series check in, New Zealand's Blackcaps won two more T20Is to wrap up the series against Pakistan before a niggly loss in the final encounter. The way Aotearoa performed in the fifth T20I was not ideal, yet the dropped catches and general lack of intensity is aligned with the situation of the series.
Pakistan offer an enticing contrast to Blackcaps cricket and serve as a reminder to be grateful for a stable Blackcaps system. As one of the more volatile nations in the world of cricket, Pakistan switched things up after the ODI World Cup which flowed into a Test series sweep against Australia. Before moaning about Blackcaps, ponder how Aotearoa does not have the continued dramas of a cricketing nation like Pakistan or the need for a deep review of cricketing matters every few years like England.
Finn Allen was a key figure in the mid-series check in and finishes with 275 runs @ 55avg/195sr. Allen has a T20I strike-rate of 163.81 and this is second only to Suryakumar Yadav's 171.55sr (as of Jan 22nd) for batters with 1,000+ runs. For all batters, Allen has the 11th best T20I strike-rate in the world and while his T20 strike-rate of 169.09 is second only to Jamie Overton (169.87sr) for batters with 1,000+ runs, Allen has the eighth best strike-rate in the world.
Forget the nitty gritty as Allen is an elite slugger, at the very least he is top-five in the world. This is fantastic because of how Allen looked in the T20Is against Bangladesh where he struggled to operate at his world-class tempo. Allen followed that series with scores of 50 and 78* in the Super Smash, which means Allen has six 30+ scores in his last eight games. If Allen's scoring 30+ runs with a monster strike-rate, Blackcaps are off to a fast start.
The only other batter who had two 50+ scores against Pakistan was Daryl Mitchell and his 158 runs @ 52avg/183sr features a strike-rate that isn't far off Allen's 195sr. Mitchell is a top-notch Blackcaps batter in all formats who could elevate to a 30+ average in T20Is along with his 50+ averages in Test and ODI cricket.
Mitchell's current T20I record is 26.25avg/138sr and while Mitchell has a T20 record of 31.48avg/135sr, he's averaging 40+ in First-Class and List-A cricket. 40/40/30 averages is an excellent spot for Mitchell, yet it looks a bit stink compared to his international batting mahi.
Mitchell and Allen were the only Blackcaps to score 150+ runs against Pakistan, with Glenn Phillips next in line on 147 runs @ 36avg/134sr. Mitchell Santner also delivered impressive hitting with 33 runs @ 173sr which was the third highest batting strike-rate for Aotearoa in this series.
The lacklustre pockets of Blackcaps batting feature Devon Conway and Mark Chapman. Conway missed the last two games due to illness which may have been a convenient nod to his lack of runs and like Conway's dip in form across three formats, Chapman struggled in this series after a fantastic 2023 in T20I batting.
Last Friday's newsletter outlined the lack of runs from Conway in all three formats. In the T20I bubble Conway averaged 40+ in three consecutive years with strike-rates over 120 in each of them. This was followed by 13avg/109sr last year and 9avg/112sr in his three appearances this year.
Chapman's brew started in 2022 when he averaged 30 with a strike-rate of 163. Last year this jumped up to 44avg/141sr and Chapman's fielding mahi in the last T20I against Pakistan could have been influenced by a lack of runs, scoring 32 runs @ 8avg/128sr. Perhaps Chapman was frustrated with his lack of form and this flowed into his fielding, which is especially funky considering that Chapman has one score over 30 in his last eight innings (including T20Is vs Bangladesh and Super Smash).
Tim Southee was the best bowler for Aotearoa and the Lockie Ferguson/Adam Milne combo also performed well...
Tim Southee: 10w @ 14avg/7.1rpo
Adam Milne: 7w @ 18avg/11rpo
Ish Sodhi: 6w @ 21avg/8.4rpo
Lockie Ferguson: 5w @ 15avg/6.5rpo
Matt Henry: 5w @ 26avg/8.8rpo
Ben Sears: 4w @ 17avg/8.7rpo
Mitchell Santner: 1w @ 126avg/7.8rpo
Since making his debut in 2008, Southee averaged below 23 in just one year up until 2021. That one year was 2013 in which Southee only played one game (12avg) and this was followed by six years in a row averaging 25+ in T20Is. Now Southee is in his fourth consecutive year of T20I bowling with a yearly average below 21, while dipping below 20avg in three of these four years.
Southee has also stayed below 8rpo in all four years since the start of 2021 and he's already got 10+ wickets this year, giving him four years in a row of 10+ T20I wickets. With Trent Boult possibly in the T20 World Cup mix, Blackcaps could roll out a seam quartet of Southee, Boult, Ferguson and Milne. This would leave Matt Henry on the outer where he is battling with Ben Sears for selection, while others like Ben Lister could command an opportunity.
Santner's mediocre series seems more like a blip than a notable dip as seen in the Conway bracket. Like Southee, Santner has found a career-best pocket in recent years with two years averaging below 20 prior to this series. That's the first time Santner has averaged below 20 in consecutive years (while playing more than one game) and it includes Santner's excellent T20I series against Bangladesh which was a few weeks ago, also in NZ.
The Rachin Ravindra hype is still fascinating to follow. Not only has Ravindra earned a swell of IPL buzz while averaging less than 16 in both T20 formats with strike-rates below 125, Ravindra hasn't quite followed on from his glorious ODI World Cup run. Since his 108 runs vs Pakistan at the World Cup, Ravindra has scores of 42, 13, 0, 45, 8, 3 and 1. This includes a Super Smash outing and the T20I vs Pakistan, plus Ravindra has 3 wickets in his last seven innings with the ball.
As Blackcaps prepare for Test cricket against South Africa, this is a good opportunity to take stock of Blackcaps T20 depth and a possible T20 World Cup mixer. Squads usually consist of 15 players so that will be the guide for this exercise and as Blackcaps will play all four of their group stage games in the Caribbean (Guyana and Trinidad), selections skew towards spinners.
The spin skew is notable because it could sort out the seam bowling depth and instead open up a spot for Ravindra or Michael Bracewell as spinning all-rounders. These conditions could be similar to what Ravindra enjoyed in India and thus bring out his best mahi, while Bracewell is still a factor and his Super Smash performances could be crucial in reminding folks of his capabilities.
Batting: Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Tim Seifert
Bowling: Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Lockie Ferguson, Adam Milne, Ish Sodhi
All-Rounders: Mitchell Santner, Jimmy Neesham, Michael Bracewell
That's my squad of 15 players. Ravindra could replace Chapman or Conway if they continue to struggle, or Ravindra can be selected ahead of Seifert with Conway offering wicket-keeping mahi. Henry and Sears seem to be with Ravindra on the cusp of the group, although this depends on Boult's availability as well as conditions. Whatever combination you prefer, there is a strong squad on offer for Blackcaps and a few funky checkpoints on the radar with Super Smash finals and then a T20I series against Australia later in the season.
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Peace and love.