Every summer in Aotearoa, there is a batsman or bowler who emerges to be the undisputed 'best that no one talks about' or otherwise known as the underground king and so far this summer it is looking as though Canterbury's Ken McClure is this geezer.
Another Test in Aotearoa and another dose of Blackcaps at their best in kiwi conditions - chur Aotearoa.
Canterbury wahine are cruising at the top of the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield ladder are two wins over the weekend saw them maintain their unbeaten start to Aotearoa's 50-over women's competition.
Plenty of funky and lovely things happened as Aotearoa's Blackcaps defeated West Indies in the first Test, although the absence of a few lads spiced things up in a variety of different ways.
"Umm, aw yeah, look, uh firstly it's for the team ... haha it always is ya know".
With no kiwis in the Women's Big Bash League final, Suzie Bates battling shoulder issues and enticing Hallyburton Johnstone Shield performances to start this summer, it feels as though the funk that has swept over the men's kiwi cricket landscape is here to shake things up across both the lads and ladies sides of kiwi cricket.
If you've dabbled in deep excursions into the Aotearoa cricket mangroves, this summer appears to be the perfect period to take that to a nek level as there are all sorts of enticing yarns to be had.
Rain? Chur. Hamish Bennett falling over when he bowls? Chur. Mellow West Indies? Chur. Popped knee caps (plural)? Chur. Impressive performances with funky T20I 1st 11 implications? Chur. Bit of a wild couple of days in the Blackcaps T20I realm.
Tomorrow evening begins a new era of cricket fandom in Aotearoa. A most tradition-minded of sports enters the new age of live internet streaming as Spark Sport take charge of their first proper broadcast.
Blackcaps eve. Emerging from the long night of 2020's soul, Aotearoa's Blackcaps will spark up their summer with T20I fixtures that finally have a heavy dose of context.
The opening weekend of Aotearoa's Hallyburton Johnstone Shield competition saw Central Hinds, Canterbury Magicians and Northern Districts all grab two wins as women's cricket in Aotearoa appears to be in the midst of the same youngster takeover that has been happening in the men's game.
In a couple days the Women's Big Bash League finals will be played and everything has worked out nicely for Sophie Devine's Perth Scorchers and the Brisbane Heat featuring Amelia Kerr and Maddy Green as they'll be playing in different semi-finals.
Melbourne Stars and Brisbane Heat are perched at the top of the Women's Big Bash League, quietly making up for the downbuzz absence of Sophie Devine and Suzie Bates.
Despite most of Aotearoa's Blackcaps Test squad playing in the Plunket Shield to start this summer, the squad features blokes coming into Test cricket from all different angles.
The first stanza of Aotearoa's Plunket Shield is all wrapped up and as we venture into the white ball realm, it's time to lay out a Plunket Shield First Stanza All Stars team.
Having been named in Aotearoa's T20 squad to face West Indies at the same time as they continue their dominance of kiwi cricket, it's fair to say that Kyle Jamieon and Devon Conway are the darlings of kiwi cricket right now.
The upcoming kiwi cricket summer once again has a hefty focus on T20 cricket and while that means the neglect of glorious Test cricket continues, balancing T20I and ODI fixtures makes sense given the international tournament structure.
If you're reading this, you know that Devon Conway has already kicked down the Blackcaps door to find Will Young meditating in patience as he waits on the stars to align and present a Blackcaps debut in any format.
After an almighty rough patch for the kiwi wahine in WBBL compared to the standard dose of kiwi WBBL dominance, Amelia Kerr has bagged 7w in her last two games while Sophie Devine cracked her first century of the tournament.
While deep in the mangroves with kiwi cricket matters, the funk around Tom Blundell's batsmanship has been permeating around the land of Aotearoa.