Breaking Down The Blackcaps T20 Squad To Tour Pakistan
The Blackcaps will play five T20Is in Pakistan with a fun squad that includes a cluster of lads competing for T20 World Cup game time and a bunch of New Zealand's best emerging cricketers. Aotearoa's depth is only display with this T20 squad at a busy phase of the year as various lads are busy in India and England, but the least interesting thing about exploring this T20 squad is pondering blokes who aren't there.
It is notable to wind back to the last time Aotearoa toured Pakistan which was this time last year. How convenient that New Zealand tours Pakistan at the same time as some T20 cricket is happening in India, with shared value for New Zealand and Pakistan in this arrangement. Pakistan get international cricket at time when most of their players are shunned from T20 action and the Blackcaps balance T20WC planning with development.
Some of the reaction to this Blackcaps squad is a bit baffling considering that they went 2-2 in the T20I series last April that Pakistan hosted. T20 guru Tom Latham was a key figure in that team and if we slide back a year in the Blackcaps timeline, others like Chad Bowes, Will Young, Henry Shipley, Matt Henry, Blair Tickner and Ben Lister were well down the Blackcaps T20 depth chart.
There is a wee insight into the Sam Wells influence when comparing these two squads. As discussed in our Subscriber Pod available for folks supporting our mahi on Patreon and Substack, the previous selection regime did promote talented youngsters such as Glenn Phillips, Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Ben Sears, Adithya Ashok and Dean Foxcroft. Since Wells took over as chief selector he brought Phillips in as a 1st 11 Test player for the tour of Bangladesh, then Ravindra was given the numero wha batting slot in the Test team, followed by Will O'Rourke and Josh Clarkson getting ODI/T20I opportunities this summer.
How did Blackcaps absorb the loss of Kyle Jamieson during the Test summer? O'Rourke got a crack and who stepped in for him when he suffered an injury? Sears. Blackcaps selections aren't going backwards and despite headlines around this T20 squad, folks should not expect selections to go backwards. Young players will fill spots, new players will be given opportunities.
This is now evident in Wellington slugger Tim Robinson earning selection. Robinson serves as an indicator of cricketing talent in Aotearoa and the sneaky strength of this Blackcaps squad with a T20 batting record of 26.6avg/146sr. This isn't a generous selection based on potential, this is a case of Robinson earning an opportunity as one of the best top-order hitters in Super Smash.
Robinson is coming off his best summer of domestic cricket. In six games of Super Smash he whacked 298 runs @ 59avg/187sr which was a higher strike-rate than Allen and second only to Doug Bracewell's 200 runs @ 202sr. Robinson also had his most productive Ford Trophy and Plunket Shield campaigns, headlined by a Plunket Shield championship with Wellington in which Robinson played a career-high six games.
The rest of the emerging crew fall in line with Blackcaps matters from the summer. Clarkson played ODI and T20I cricket over the summer, bringing his excellent T20 record of 27avg/147sr into the Blackcaps. Foxcroft didn't have his best summer but he was Otago's best Super Smash batter and any bloke with a T20 record of 41avg/127sr is deserving of a call up.
Lister has snuck under the radar as one of the best emerging seamers in Aotearoa and has already played 13 ODI/T20I games. Lister was Auckland's best bower (14avg/7.5rpo) in their Super Smash championship and he serves as an example of how this squad isn't any different to Blackcaps limited overs squads over the past five years; last year Lister made his ODI debut in Pakistan and T20I debut in India.
Sears' best format is T20 with a record of 19avg/7.8rpo. O'Rourke's best format is List-A with a record of 20avg/4.7rpo but his T20 mahi of 23avg/7.8rpo isn't far behind. Add in Lister and all three average less than 25 in T20 bowling which is pretty damn solid for the next wave of Blackcaps seamers.
Almost half of this squad is made up of blokes competing for T20WC nods though. Allen, Mark Chapman, Adam Milne, Tim Seifert and Ish Sodhi are consistent T20 Blackcaps who are all likely to be in the T20WC crew. Jimmy Neesham is one of Aotearoa's best T20 cricketers and he stays busy on the global T20 circuit with a cheeky 72avg/167sr in the Bangladesh Premier League back in February.
It's been a year since Michael Bracewell played for Blackcaps and he is thoroughly deserving of selection, let alone being skipper. Bracewell returned from injury with 30avg/167sr in Super Smash batting as well as 28avg/8.1rpo as a bowler, which featured 54* @ 225sr for Wellington in their elimination final loss vs Canterbury. Bracewell then played two games of Plunket Shield with that 8-wicket-baggy and a championship.
Bracewell is highly likely to crack the T20WC squad given that Blackcaps play in the Caribbean when conditions will be more similar to Pakistan than Aotearoa. With a T20I strike-rate of 139 and T20 strike-rate of 134, Bracewell has proven his hitting ability but don't overlook his spin bowling; Bracewell has a T20I record of 10avg/5.3rpo and T20 record of 18avg/7.4rpo.
Cole McConchie and Jacob Duffy sit between these two groups within the squad as reliable Blackcaps. Duffy was excellent in Super Smash (17avg/6.7rpo) and has a T20I bowling record of 22avg/7.4rpo which is better than his T20 career mahi of 27avg/8.6rpo. Along with Milne, Duffy is a senior seamer in this group and he will be eager to impress given how younger lads leaped ahead of him in the Test rankings.
McConchie sums up the state of Aotearoa cricket and is the best example of the standard-setting veterans. McConchie is a leader for Canterbury who has steered them to numerous Super Smash finals campaigns and he's a really good all-rounder cricketer who will do anything for his team. Most notably in the context of this tour, McConchie has played 15 ODI/T20Is for Aotearoa and he's a solid spinner who adds value (22avg/7.1rpo in T20I bowling).
Who knows how this tour will play out for Blackcaps, but this squad offers immense intrigue with lads playing for T20WC selection as well as emerging blokes who will gather key development reps. These lads all have good T20 stats as well and while this may not mean anything for T20I cricket in Pakistan, they highlight the sneaky impressive depth of Aotearoa cricket.
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