Breaking Down The Blackcaps 2024 T20 World Cup Squad
The Blackcaps T20 World Cup squad has been announced and in typically kiwi fashion, it is a squad well equipped for a range of conditions, match ups and World Cup buzz. World Cups are a key measurement for Blackcaps cricket and after making the ODI World Cup semi-finals for five consecutive tournaments, New Zealand will be chasing their fourth T20 World Cup in which they make the semi-final stage and their seventh World Cup in a row finishing in the top-four.
We have covered Blackcaps T20 antics closely over the past month and so check in with these yarns to set the scene...
Breaking Down The Blackcaps T20 Squad To Tour Pakistan
Updating The Blackcaps vs Pakistan T20 Squad Breakdown
Blackcaps vs Pakistan T20 Series Debrief
There are two important areas of this T20WC squad that freshen up this coverage. The first is the wicket-keeping spot where Devon Conway is likely to wear the keeping gloves in the 1st 11 with Finn Allen offering cover. Tim Seifert is the genuine wicket-keeper who misses out on selection and this is intriguing because of Seifert's mahi, as well as Conway's lack of runs in most Blackcaps formats recently.
Seifert is one of five Blackcaps who has played 20+ T20Is since the start of 2023. Seifert is one of three batters who have scored 500+ runs in this period and he has done so with a healthy record of 28.31avg/142.32sr. Most of that stems from his 2023 performances which form his second best year of T20I batting (out of six years) and this year Seifert has put up 19.5avg/116sr.
Unfortunately for Seifert, his mahi this year wasn't quite enough to shake up the wicket-keeping slot and this piles pressure on Conway to perform.
Since the start of 2023, Conway has a similar T20I batting record to Chad Bowes and Mitchell Santner. Even Tom Latham (27.7avg/113sr) has performed better during this phase than Conway which highlights how heavy Conway's slump in Tests and T20Is has been. Conway did score 63 runs @ 137sr in a T20I vs Australia and that was his only score over 30 runs in his last 10 games, then he got injured and hasn't played since February 23rd.
The other funky selection is Matt Henry in the bowling unit with Adam Milne out injured. Milne has the most wickets and the lowest bowling strike-rate of Blackcaps who have taken 4+ wickets in T20Is since the start of 2023, plus Milne has built a strong T20I career with 24.9avg/8.4rpo. Despite losing a skillful T20 seamer, Henry's rise up the Test bowling depth chart is aligned with more T20I opportunities which Henry has snapped up.
Henry played two or less T20Is in four consecutive years (2014-17) before dipping out of Blackcaps T20 cricket for a few years. Returning to T20Is, Henry played seven games last year and then four games earlier this year, putting himself among the best Blackcaps T20 bowlers since the start of 2023.
Henry has a slightly higher bowling average than Lockie Ferguson and Ben Sears during this period. Santner is the only notable bowler with a lower T20I economy rate than Henry and given how many lads are injured, plus the nature of World Cups, there is value in having an experienced trooper like Henry in the squad. Sears is also worthy of his selection as a traveling reserve and he is the best youngster for Blackcaps in T20Is right now.
Blackcaps have ample spin options in the squad of 15. Santner and Ish Sodhi are the leading spinners, with Michael Bracewell earning selection despite not scoring many T20I runs over the past year (77 runs @ 12avg/91sr since start of 2023). Bracewell has enough mana to ride out his batting issues and offer enticing slugging down the order, plus his bowling has been good enough to warrant selection with 7w @ 24avg/7.72rpo during this period.
Glenn Phillips and Rachin Ravindra could also offer overs. Phillips may cover wicket-keeper but he has bowled in three consecutive years of T20Is an is a weapon in the field. Ravindra's best bowling format is T20 cricket where he has a T20I record of 22.4avg/6.6rpo and 27.1avg/7.3rpo in T20s. Interestingly, Ravindra has a batting strike-rate of 152 since the start of 2023 which is second only to Allen (163.8sr) for players in the T20WC squad.
Why is Jimmy Neesham selected? Strike-rate excellence...
T20Is: 155.66sr (bat) | 18sr (ball)
T20s: 142.33sr | 16.9sr
Breaking things down further...
Up Top: Williamson, Allen, Conway, Mitchell, Ravindra
Middle: Phillips, Chapman, Neesham, Bracewell
Spin: Santner, Sodhi, Bracewell, Ravindra, Phillips
Seam: Southee, Boult, Ferguson, Henry (Sears)
Join the Niche Cache Patreon whanau to support our kiwi sports content straight up, get a karma boost and find extra podcasts. You can also Buy Me A Coffee to show your support.
Every Monday and Friday we fire off an email newsletter with bonus content. Sign up here!
Peace and love.