New Zealand are in the Champions Trophy final and while it would be another glorious achievement to win the final vs India, the calm before the final provides a better zone to assess Blackcaps cricket. The fickle fragility of semi-finals and finals is something that kiwi cricket fans know well, which when combined with a clear advantage for India in hosting the final at their Champions Trophy home ground in Dubai, means that the status of the Blackcaps should not be judged on how they perform in the final.

Regardless of how Aotearoa performs in the final, they have returned to their top-four standing in men's cricket. Even with a kiwi bias, not making the semi-finals of the 2024 T20 World Cup put a dent in New Zealand's case as a top-four nation. The T20WC blip joined the second World Test Championship in which Blackcaps finished outside the top-four, which along with the achievement of winning a Test series 3-0 in India absorbs Test series losses vs Sri Lanka and England.

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Surrounding those blips, Blackcaps have consistently been among the four best nations in all formats. There were three consecutive T20WC semi-finals including a final before the 2024 tournament and Blackcaps have finished top-four in two of the three WTC, including a championship in the first campaign.

One-day cricket is New Zealand's best format. They have made the semi-finals in five consecutive ODI World Cups and that includes two appearances in the final. Including this Champions Trophy final, Blackcaps have made the final in three of the last four ODI tournaments. Quite the achievement for the smallest Test playing nation.

When gazing across the cricket landscape it becomes clear that New Zealand does cricket really well. The Blackcaps schedule flows with what tournament is on the radar. They didn’t play ODI cricket for a year after the 2023 ODIWC before touring Sri Lanka late last year for example, which hasn’t impacted their ability to win ODIs. There were top-tier lads who missed all the ODIs vs Sri Lanka, yet they slotted straight back into a welcome environment for the tri-series vs Pakistan and South Africa ... which Blackcaps won.

Sure, it would be great if Blackcaps played more Test cricket but Aotearoa is at the mercy of global cricket and must get in where we fit in. A lack of Test cricket during summers in New Zealand makes every Test an event, every day is a celebration of kiwi cricket. Every Blackcaps game draws a bumper crowd regardless of opposition, format and location. Big crowds during the England Test series were matched by big crowds for ODIs vs Sri Lanka for example.

There is a lovely balance of cricket in the domestic schedule as well. It was a bummer when the Plunket Shield season was shortened a few years ago, but it now provides room for all formats to thrive. Eight Plunket Shield games, 10 Ford Trophy games and 10 Super Smash games gives kiwi cricketers the opportunity to develop skills across all formats. This balance has seen Blackcaps win a WTC, stay in ODIWC semi-finals and despite being a non-factor in the T20 circuit, Super Smash produces high quality cricketers who add to Blackcaps and get T20 gigs overseas.

When domestic cricketers aren't playing in those competitions, there are plenty of 'A' games as well as regional representative fixtures. At the time of writing, Plunket Shield has returned to for the second stanza and there is a Hawke Cup Challenge three-day game between Taranaki and Canterbury Country being played. The domestic schedule appears compact but there is an abundance of cricket across all formats for kiwi cricketers to play.

Now here we are basking in the glow of an excellent Champions Trophy, which can be stretched out to an excellent year of ODI cricket. Blackcaps are 8-2 in ODIs this year. Five different batters have scored a century and nine batters have registered a 50+ score. Of these nine batters, Devon Conway is the only bloke with one 50+ score.

Four bowlers have taken 10+ wickets, two seamers in Matt Henry and Will O'Rourke plus two spinners in Mitchell Santner and Michael Bracewell. This becomes six bowlers with 5+ wickets and of the nine bowlers who have taken an ODI wicket this year, only two have conceded more than 6rpo.

17 players have been used in ODI cricket this year and this includes Mitch Hay who played once. Ben Sears played two games in the tri-series before suffering an injury and was joined by Lockie Ferguson in dropping out of the Champions Trophy squad due to injury. Jacob Duffy and Mark Chapman haven't played in the Champions Trophy, yet they are two of the most efficient ODI players for New Zealand this year; Duffy has the second lowest average behind Henry and Chapman has two 50+ scores in three innings with 101.7sr.

Interestingly, all of this has followed the near-completion of what was supposed to be a golden generation. New Zealand had a Test series sweep in India without Kane Williamson or Trent Boult and now they are in the Champions Trophy final without Boult or Tim Southee.

Blackcaps finished fourth in this WTC cycle with a 7-7 record and Neil Wagner played once. Players like Finn Allen, Tim Seifert, Jimmy Neesham and Ferguson haven't played an ODI recently. Others like Adam Milne, Ish Sodhi and Henry Nicholls played in Sri Lanka but haven't played this year. Meanwhile Blackcaps have been winning lots.

However this Champions Trophy final plays out, Blackcaps have refreshed their group with senior lads offering career-best mahi and a young wave emerging as excellent international cricketers. This tournament provided an important checkpoint for Blackcaps after periods in which their standards dropped and they have now earned their spot back among the powerhouses of international cricket.

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