While there have been many notable checkpoints to suggest that the Blackcaps will be alright after the previous generation started to dip out of the mix, the last few months have escalated a sense of calm about New Zealand cricket. We watched a Test team defeat West Indies with a third, maybe fourth tier bowling unit and after the ODI team rolled up and smoked England with a similar bowling attack, now the Blackcaps have an ODI series win in India with a group that once again showcases kiwi cricket depth.

The Blackcaps won 2-1, scored 300+ runs when they batted first and chased down a target of 285 in the second game while only losing 3 wickets. India didn't bowl New Zealand out in any of the games and had one game in which they took 5+ wickets, while Blackcaps took 5+ wickets in all three games and dismissed India once.

This is part of a fabulous ODI groove. Blackcaps are 19-4 in ODI cricket since the start of 2025 and that's amplified by using 27 different players. Kristian Clarke and Jayden Lennox made their debuts in India and one of the most notable themes in the Blackcaps pipeline is how new players contribute to the team in their first series. Most new players have either dominated or done their jobs and the most recent examples are Mitch Hay and Michael Rae in Tests, now Clarke and Lennox.

Clarke was the leading wicket-taker in the ODI series. Let that sink in because there are a many pockets of this Blackcaps effort that grab the headlines (including Lennox) but the 24-year-old bloke from Te Awamutu took the most wickets in a series where runs flowed. The only other bowler who averaged below 28 was Arshdeep Singh and he played one game, while Clarke played all three games with 7w @ 26.1avg/6.7rpo.

Five of his seven dismissals were top-five batters for India. Clarke's only wicket in the first game was Harshit Rana who batted eight, then Clarke dismissed Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer in game two. In the third ODI Clarke got Kohli and Iyer again, as well as Nitish Kumar Reddy who batted six and scored 53 runs.

Clarke, Jamieson, Foulkes and Lennox all took 3+ wickets in the series and conceded less than 7rpo. That isn't close to Aotearoa's best bowling unit and given how players are playing their roles, it's important to keep an open mind about the various combinations on offer. Clarke also led the bowling unit for runs with 35 runs @ 159sr and while they weren't required to add major runs, the three seamers all had 100+ strike-rates.

This bowling unit also reflects the variety and skills available to Blackcaps. Clarke was only operating around 130km/h but he hits the deck hard, has a heavy ball and the required variations. Jamieson's the tallest lad on the field and moves the ball both ways. Foulkes is all funk and Lennox is all craft, relying on kiwi fundamentals rather than ripping spin.

Lennox was the most economical Blackcaps bowler (4.2rpo) and only one below 5rpo. He also sums up the Blackcaps pipeline because he and Clarke were part NZ-A cricket last year, as well as Lennox being a mature cricketer who kept improving to break into the Blackcaps tier. No one should be buzzing about the age of Aotearoa's cricketers because it doesn't matter when players of all ages are contributing and raising the bar of development standards.

There is no better example than Daryl Mitchell who has nudged ahead of Rachin Ravindra as Aotearoa's best all-format batter. Mitchell entered the Blackcaps zone as a mature cricketer and is now New Zealand's best ODI batter ever, while also averaging 43 in Test batting and being a 1st 11 T20I batter.

Neither is as good as Mitchell, but Glenn Phillips' ODI record smells a lot like Ravindra's...

Glenn Phillips: 42.06avg/103sr
Rachin Ravindra: 41.88avg/107sr

Mitchell went 50+ in all three innings, Phillips hit his century in the third ODI and there were also 50+ scores for Will Young, Devon Conway and Henry Nicholls. The most important of those 50+ scores was Young's 87 in the second ODI as he has been struggling for runs in the Blackcaps zone with 18.8avg/79sr in 2205 ODIs.

A half-century to start the year means that Young has a 50+ score in five consecutive years of ODI batting and that's five of his six years total. Despite a dip in form, Young still has an ODI record of 36.46avg/86sr and there is immense competition in the mature batting unit as Young, Conway and Nicholls battle with each other, as well as all the younger lads who are hungry to have an impact.

Mitchell also dabbled in captaincy during the third ODI and leadership is a major factor in steady Blackcaps mahi, especially when the coaching change is sprinkled into the mix. Aotearoa's top two captains weren't in this series with Test skipper Tom Latham a sneaky absence given his ODI consistency, while Mitchell Santner is the main captain in ODI/T20I cricket.

Michael Bracewell is third in the captaincy ranks and he continues to lead admirably, as a cricketer as well as a captain. Mitchell's got similar mana and should be viewed in this bracket of leaders, meaning that Aotearoa has a hearty group of experienced international cricketers who can chime in with leadership.

The change in coach has resulted in staying steady. No drastic changes were needed to the Blackcaps environment and Rob Walter has been humble enough to maintain what was working while weaving in a fresh perspective. Results have been good overall but the most notable observation about coach Walter's first stanza as Blackcaps coach has been the wide variety of players he has worked with.

Most of this was due to injuries and that only makes the performances more impressive as a a new coach was able to get the best out of the 30+ players used across the formats since the tour of Zimbabwe. Regardless of how the T20I stuff goes over the next month, coach Walter has nurtured the Blackcaps pipeline with winning mahi in Tests and ODIs.

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Peace and love.