Black Caps top XI looking clear
From No 6, to opening, to No 3. Henry Nicholls has become the Black Caps’ batting yo-yo, but after today’s Dunedin reshuffle he belongs back at the top for the Cricket World Cup.
Yes it’s been messy, this shuffling of the deck leading up to the final New Zealand one-day international before their cup opener against Sri Lanka in Cardiff on June 1.
The masterplan, which meant overlooking the legitimate claims of Central Stags batsman Will Young, was muddied by Colin Munro’s struggles in ODI cricket which extended to one halfcentury from his last 16 innings.
Fresh from a whirlwind 72 in the final Twenty20, Munro returns to partner Martin Guptill in Dunedin as the versatile Nicholls shuffles down to three with Kane Williamson resting after two one-sided contests with Bangladesh.
Munro may well produce some fireworks against an attack several notches down from India’s, and looks inked into the Black Caps’ cup 15. But this appears more designed to keep Munro’s eye in as a backup batting option with the potential to unleash him against the right opponent on a flat one in Britain.
Nicholls looked solid alongside Guptill who, by coincidence or not, strung together back-to-back centuries and may even be freed up to lift his strike rate in the power play with no dasher like Munro or predecessors Luke Ronchi or Brendon McCullum at the other end.
The first ODI in Napier, where Nicholls and Guptill crafted New Zealand’s first century ODI stand since December 2017, looked as close as they’ll get to their strongest top XI in pace-friendly conditions.
After the batting core of Williamson, Ross Taylor and Tom Latham it means the power allrounders of Jimmy Neesham, Colin de Grandhomme and Mitchell Santner in the 6-7-8 slots, followed by Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson and Trent Boult.
Tim Southee may well get a run in Dunedin, and he needs one, but Boult and Henry look the new ball duo for the cup, with Ferguson the strike man at first change and at the death.
The complicating factor then is spin, with Cardiff (against Sri Lanka) and Taunton (against Afghanistan) notably spinfriendly in recent years. Depending on how dry the next few months are in Britain other swards may favour spin too.
That means Todd Astle, who has his nose in front of Ish Sodhi for the final squad spot, plays. Possibly at the expense of Neesham, de Grandhomme, or even Henry depending on pitch conditions.
That puts the acid on Astle’s batting, potentially at No 8, and Santner at No 7, to produce some fireworks with a platform from the top-five.
And it makes Neesham and/or de Grandhomme the most vital cogs in this squad with their batting power. If both fire in the same lineup they could be lethal. But the big question remains, whether they can ice a high pressure run chase.
If Munro was re-installed at the top and Nicholls returned to six, it lengthens the batting and means Neesham or de Grandhomme bats seven and shares 10 overs with Munro and/or Williamson’s spin which has also been under-utilised to date.
That may well have been the original plan, but looks to have undergone a re-think.
On top of the 14 players used for this Bangladesh series, backup wicketkeeper/batsman Tim Seifert’s addition looks the most likely cup 15. Doug Bracewell, Sodhi, Corey Anderson, Adam Milne and Young may be the closest standby men, and not out of the picture yet if injuries strike.
Seifert, Southee and Munro may well end up carrying a lot of drinks in Britain as the Black Caps look set to put their faith in a solid top-five platform and some all-round power with the bat to boost them past that magic number of 300.