NZ’S test team of the decade

The momentous Boxing Day test at the MCG will bring down the curtain on the Black Caps’ ninth decade of test cricket. While hammered in the first match of the series against Australia in Perth, the past 10 years have brought New Zealand unprecedented success in the five-day format, currently sitting at a best-ever mark of No 2 in the world rankings.

Thirty-two of their 99 test wins have come since the start of 2010, and in that time 51 players have worn the whites. So just how many of the current crop make it into Stuff’s Black Caps test team of the decade?

(Selection criteria for past players is based on entire careers, not just the games they played in this decade. *Denotes a player considered in two different categories.)

Mathew Sinclair, Brendon Mccullum*, Peter Fulton, Ross Taylor, Daniel Flynn, Aaron Redmond, Jesse Ryder*, Tim Mcintosh, Martin Guptill, Peter Ingram, Kane Williamson, Dean Brownlie, Rob Nicol, Colin Munro, Hamish Rutherford, Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, Jeet Raval, Neil Broom.

Tom Latham, Brendon Mccullum (captain), Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls.

Latham is a clear lock-in as one opener – now 10th on New Zealand’s all-time test runscoring list, averaging 43.16, with his 11 hundreds having the left-hander sixth equal on that front, too.

The other opening spot goes to Mccullum. He could obviously be considered in the wicketkeeping role, or at No 5 where he finished his career, but the emergence of BJ Watling and Henry Nicholls means he gets the nod to bat up top.

In any case, Mccullum opened in 20 per cent of his test career and averaged 39.87 there – more than a run better than his overall mark.

Mccullum also gets the captaincy, having led the side to 11 wins in 30 tests in charge thanks to an innovative, aggressive and change-inspiring approach.

The No 3 and No 4 is the easiest selection ever, as Williamson and Taylor would make New Zealand’s all-time XI, with a massive 13,494 runs and 40 centuries between them.

Taylor (7124 runs at 47.17) needs just 49 runs to surpass Stephen Fleming as the country’s top test run-scorer, while Williamson (6370 at 52.21), at six years Taylor’s junior, will go on to set an even higher mark.

The No 5 spot is a toss-up of who’s left, and Nicholls gets the tick ahead of fellow left-hander Ryder.

It’s a case of what could have been for Ryder, with his welldocumented off-field issues in the end limiting the naturally talented strokemaker to just the 18 tests (for six fifties, three hundreds [including a double] and an average of 40.93).

Nicholls, meanwhile, has made the spot his own in the past four years since Mccullum’s retirement.

A much different player to Ryder, with much less flamboyance and far more grit, he has got himself a healthy average of 41.95 from 30 tests, with five centuries, and was ranked No 5 in the world earlier this year.

Jesse Ryder*, Corey Anderson, Jimmy Neesham, Colin de Grandhomme, Daryl Mitchell.

Colin de

Grandhomme.

In missing out on a top-five batting role, Ryder could also be considered in the all-rounder category, with his medium-pacers a viable fifth-bowler option.

However, he actually only bowled in 15 of 32 innings at test level, for just five wickets, and the emergence of de Grandhomme as a big contributor with both bat and ball means it’s he who gets the nod.

The Zimbabwe-born big-hitter has now played 20 tests and become a key part of the current lineup, mixing his strength with smarts for a batting average of 39.38 (strike rate 85.69), and with his out-swingers proving not just economical, but also often wicket taking, with 40 at 30.25.

Brendon Mccullum*, Gareth Hopkins, BJ Watling, Reece Young, Kruger van Wyk, Luke Ronchi, Tom Blundell.

BJ Watling. With Mccullum taken out of the equation in being selected as a specialist batsman, it’s an easy pick, with Watling now arguably the world’s best keeper-batsman going around.

Since taking on the role, Watling has been a mainstay behind the stumps, his glovework exemplary, and this year breaking the Kiwi record for most test dismissals.

And over recent years his batsmanship has gone to a whole new level.

He now averages 40.30 and has eight centuries – right up there with the best keeper-batsmen of all-time – and has built a knack of making plenty of those runs when his side is most in need of them.

Daniel Vettori, Jeetan Patel, Todd Astle, Bruce Martin, Ish Sodhi, Mark Craig, Mitchell Santner, Ajaz Patel, Will Somerville.

Daniel Vettori. Another straightforward selection, with Vettori New Zealand’s most-capped (112) test player of all-time.

He will also remain the country’s second-highest wickettaker for a while yet, with his 361 scalps (at 34.36, including 20 fivewicket bags and three 10-wicket match hauls) still nearly 100 ahead of the chasing pack.

A workhorse left-armer, Vettori’s guile and subtle change in pace became his big strength, while his batting was a major improvement over his career, to the point where he finished with six tons and an average of exactly 30.

Daryl Tuffey, Chris Martin, James Franklin, Mark Gillespie, Tim Southee, Brent Arnel, Hamish Bennett, Andy Mckay, Doug Bracewell, Trent Boult, Neil Wagner, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson.

Tim Southee, Neil Wagner, Trent Boult.

It’s the current-day trio, who have joined forces to become one of the world’s most lethal weapons in recent years.

They have all at some point been ranked inside the world’s top five, and now sit third, fourth and seventh on New Zealand’s test wicket-taking chart.

Southee (267 wickets at 29.61 including nine five-wicket hauls and one 10-wicket match) was first on the scene, and his kit bag has evolved plenty from just a classy stock outswinger. Now his use of the crease and variation in seam position are also key elements which have seen him rise to third on the country’s test wicket-taking chart.

Boult (255 wickets at 27.64 including eight five-wicket hauls and one 10-wicket match) soon joined his provincial mate at the top level and has proved to be the perfect new-ball foil, the leftarmer swinging the ball the opposite way, with some added pace making him an extra threat.

Wagner (194 wickets at 26.78 including nine five-wicket hauls) has been a revelation in the past few years thanks to his shortpitched assaults. The lion-hearted left-armer can still hit a good length well but has come up trumps in finding new ways to take wickets, and just keeps on running in for his team.

So, all up, there’s an overwhelming presence of current-day players, with Mccullum and Vettori the sole retirees in there.

Nine spots to those in the present squad is a reflection of the Black Caps’ results in recent years, which have been markedly improved on past times, along with a playing group who were mostly started young and haven’t yet hit the end.

Consistency in performance and consistency in selection are a byproduct of one another, and a rather low turnover in personnel through the decade is because several of these players will go down as genuine New Zealand greats of the game.