Exploring The Blackcaps ODI Mixer Ahead Of The 2025 Champions Trophy
After losing T20I and ODI series in Sri Lanka, New Zealand has won both series on the return leg in Aotearoa to finish this lovely match up with Sri Lanka 5-5 across both formats. Blackcaps were able to maintain their high standards in home conditions with a fresh group and while these two tours have been important development points to integrate younger players into the white ball squads, now the focus sharpens towards a major tournament.
Three batters had 50+ scores in the home ODIs vs Sri Lanka and they form the best three batters of this away/home phase vs Sri Lanka...
Mark Chapman: 250 runs @ 62avg/98sr
Will Young: 236 runs @ 59avg/89r
Rachin Ravindra: 125 runs @ 41avg/120sr
This is the funkiest zone when pondering how the Blackcaps squad and 1st 11 may look for the Champions Trophy. Kane Williamson is a legend of Aotearoa cricket and he will slide back into the batting unit, while Devon Conway is in a much trickier spot. Despite receiving the same casual contract status as Williamson, Conway is not a legend of kiwi cricket and he has lacked runs in all three formats for at least two years now.
Many would assume that Conway is a 1st 11 batter. Many would also assume that Conway would have opened the batting in the third Test against England if he was available. Conway churned out 21 runs @ 5.2avg in the first two Tests against England and has been trending downwards for a while now, then Young put up scores of 42 and 60 in Conway's spot.
Young had a 50+ score in both the away and home portion of this Sri Lanka series and was only overtaken by Chapman for the most runs in this period during the third ODI at Eden Park. Now averaging 46.25 after 37 ODIs, Young has made a compelling case to open the batting alongside Ravindra and Chapman has put himself in the mix to cover all batting positions.
Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips didn't score many runs in these series vs Sri Lanka. Here are their stats in during the away/home period...
Daryl Mitchell: 40 runs @ 20avg/93sr | 2ov @ 6.5rpo
Glenn Phillips: 46 runs @ 11.5avg/77sr | 1w @ 76avg/4.7rpo
Mitchell's averaging 50.53 in ODIs and is highly unlikely to dip out of the 1st 11, while Phillips should maintain his spot thanks to his all-round quality. Phillips can add five overs of spin, he boosts Blackcaps fielding which is major factor for kiwi teams in major tournaments and smacking runs down the order is especially important in Pakistan where Phillips has 103 runs @ 51.5avg/100sr.
Tom Latham batted twice in the home ODIs vs Sri Lanka for 1 run and will probably hold down the wicket-keeping duties, batting five. Latham's three best years of ODI batting were 2020-22 and like many Blackcaps, he has a strong record in Pakistan with 42.7avg/87sr. Having Latham as the leading wicket-keeper with Mitchell Hay offering back up in the squad appears to be the likeliest scenario, although Conway could add value as a wicket-keeper.
Possible top-six: Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham, Glenn Phillips
Chapman doesn't even feature in that list, let alone Conway. This leaves Chapman and Conway fighting for squad selection as batters, which is where Conway's wicket-keeping could see him earn selection ahead of Hay. The best thing here is how Chapman has demanded attention through his weight of runs and he is an ideal squad member because he can bat in any role.
Chapman has had at least four ODI innings batting third, fourth, fifth and seventh. He averages 50+ when batting three and four, while he has strike-rates over 100 when batting four, five and seven. Chapman could sneak past Phillips for the sixth spot in the batting line up, or he could provide batting class down the order if Blackcaps go with one less bowler.
Mitchell Santner will captain the Blackcaps and he's locked in as a 1st 11 spinner. Michael Bracewell is likely to be selected in the squad as a spinning all-rounder and while he only bowled in one of the home ODIs vs Sri Lanka, Bracewell took 6w @ 25avg/5.5rpo in 28 overs across the away/home phase. Ish Sodhi played two ODIs in Sri Lanka and he could feature in the squad, but Blackcaps are more likely to roll with Bracewell and/or seaming all-rounders.
Matt Henry and Will O'Rourke are likely to be 1st 11 seamers. The prospect of a Blackcaps seam attack with Henry, O'Rourke and Lockie Ferguson is enticing given the dominant form of Henry combined with the hostility and movement of the O'Rourke/Ferguson combo. Ferguson hasn't commanded selection with ODI performances though as he has averaged 30+ in his last three years of ODI bowling, climbing over 40avg in his last two years.
Meanwhile, Jacob Duffy was the second best Blackcaps bowler behind Henry in the away/home ODI phase vs Sri Lanka. Duffy has quietly built a strong ODI record and along with the other lads who actually want to represent Aotearoa as often as possible, their ODI mahi stacks up well compared to others...
Matt Henry: 25.43avg/5.1rpo
Will O'Rourke: 31.6avg/5.6rpo
Jacob Duffy: 25.94avg/6.2rpo
Lockie Ferguson: 31.55avg/5.6rpo
Adam Milne: 35.56avg/5.4rpo
Trent Boult: 24.38avg/4.9rpo
Sure, Blackcaps will be better with Boult in the team but there isn't much evidence to suggest that Boult will represent Aotearoa again. Folks can keep clinging to the past or embrace the new and across all three formats over the past two years (since Sam Wells took over as chief selector), Blackcaps have embraced a new wave of kiwi cricket talent.
This could see Nathan Smith snap up a squad spot. Smith and Santner are the only Blackcaps to bowl in five of the six ODIs played vs Sri Lanka recently, which can be tweaked for the only lads to bowl 30+ overs. Smith has quickly established himself as one of the best fielders across all three formats for Blackcaps and while he didn't put up dominant mahi with bat or ball, he's shown flashes of his batting ability and he's got at least a wicket in four of the five ODIs he played vs Sri Lanka.
After Phillips in a possible 1st 11: Mitchell Santner, Michael Bracewell, Matt Henry, Jacob Duffy, Will O'Rourke.
Usually these major tournaments have squads of 15. Chapman, Hay and Smith could fill three spots in the squad which leaves one squad spot up for grabs. If Boult wants to represent Aotearoa again, there is space for him and he would bump Duffy out of the 1st 11. Alternatively, there is space for Conway to get squad selection or Blackcaps could pick from experienced troopers like Ferguson and Sodhi.
If Blackcaps are going all in on the fresh vibes then the likes of Tim Robinson and Zak Foulkes could enter the equation. Kyle Jamieson has also returned from injury and Blackcaps could integrate Jamieson back into the mix by carrying him in the Champions Trophy squad. One-day cricket (ODIs/List-A) is the only format in which Jamieson averages 30+ in both tiers though and this doesn't seem like the best time to rush Jamieson into any Blackcaps squads.
Blackcaps have made ODI World Cup semi-finals in five consecutive tournaments, including the 2023 tournament. Along with three consecutive T20 World Cup semi-finals (before stinking it up in 2024 with an experienced group), World Test Championship success and Champions Trophy success in 2000, Aotearoa has a proud record in ICC events.
Blackcaps are currently fourth in the WTC and could drop to fifth if Sri Lanka get a win or two vs Australia coming up, maintaining a top-five WTC spot as they refresh their Test squad. Ravindra was injected into the ODI squad for the 2023 World Cup and now they have plenty of ODI freshness heading into the Champions Trophy. We will wait to see how the squad is selected but an early expectation baseline is reaching the semi-finals. This would reinforce Aotearoa's status as one of the best cricketing nations in the world (the best when factoring in population size) and showcase the talent coming through the Blackcaps pipeline.
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