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Scotty’s Word
My favourite Blackcaps thing ahead of the Test series vs West Indies is Matt Henry being in a comfy spot among New Zealand’s best seamers ... in all three formats. Henry has the fifth lowest ODI average for Blackcaps with 100+ wickets and we have to use 40 wickets as the T20I baseline because Henry has 40w @ 22.37avg which is ranked sixth lowest. Henry is also in rare air for Test bowling...
Lowest Test bowling averages for Blackcaps with 100+ wickets
Sir Richard Hadlee: 431w @ 22.29avg
Bruce Taylor: 111w @ 26.6avg
Matt Henry: 136w @ 27.4avg
Trent Boult: 317w @ 27.49avg
Neil Wagner: 260w @ 27.57avg
Henry is slightly ahead of Boult there, and in ODIs he (24.98) is slightly behind Boult (24.38). Boult has third on the T20I list with 21.43 so there is a bigger gap between him and Henry (22.37) but Henry isn’t far off. Sir Richard is the only other bowler among the best in Test and ODIs, while Boult and Henry are the only bowlers who also feature near the top of the T20I list.
Last year was Henry’s best year of Test bowling (48w @ 18.5avg) and he followed it up with 16w @ 9.1avg in Zimbabwe earlier this year. Using the same 2020 checkpoint as the Mitchell Santner nugget from the latest Blackcaps deep dive, Henry has made notable improvements in recent years and this is aligned with him operating with the new ball more often.
Before 2020: 48.46avg/3.26
Since start of 2020: 21.94avg/3rpo
Bowling positions
First: 17.32avg/3.14rpo
Second: 24.01avg/2.89rpo
Third: 63.75avg/4.06rpo
Fourth: 94.66avg/3.3rpo
Henry has been elite in the last two years. Here are the only bowlers averaging below 20 with 50+ Test wickets since the start of 2024...
Josh Hazlewood: 51w @ 14.96avg
Noman Ali: 50w @ 16.04avg
Matt Henry: 64w @ 16.21avg
Jasprit Bumrah: 102w @ 17.12avg
I’ve got more Blackcaps legendary mahi and not so legendary mahi, Plunket Shield team notes, as well as HBJ Shield notes beyond the paywall. The second round of HBJ Shield will be played this weekend with Canterbury hosting Auckland in Rangiora, Central Districts hosting Wellington in Palmerston North and Northern Districts hosting Otago in Whangarei.
2025/26 HBJ Shield: First Round Basics
The battle up north intrigues me the most. ND had a win and a loss vs Wellington in the first round, while Otago had two losses at home. Saffron Wilson was the only Otago batter who scored 50+ runs in the two game weekend series and she was the only batter averaging over 25. Louisa Kotkamp (2) and Emma Black (2) were the only wicket-takers.
I was eager to see how Otago performed with the change in coach and that wasn’t a good start. Maybe they will play better on tour, maybe their winning know how will help them bounce back or maybe ND will thrive in this match up.
ND were only slightly better than Otago with two batters over 50+ runs and 25avg. Like Otago with Wilson, ND’s best batters were emerging players in Natasha Wakelin (19yrs) and Holly Topp (24yrs). ND had six bowlers take a wicket in their opening series and the best were emerging seamers Lucy Boucher (24yrs) and Kayley Knight (22yrs).
Some quick hitters from day one (this is cooked up before the start of day two) in Plunket Shield...
Henry Nicholls recent scores: 34, 4*, 150*, 117*, 11, 138, 25, 15, 111
Tim Robinson recent scores: 45, 50, 113, 87*, 1, 94* (overnight)
Josh Clarkson recent wickets: 5, 4, 3, 4, 0, 4, 2 (overnight)
Scores in domestic cricket this season
Tom Latham: 78, 28, 97*, 52
Tom Blundell: 2, 9, 25, 64*, 77, 3, 3
Will Young: 2, 50, 25
Freddy Lussick is moving from NZ Warriors to Panthers. Yes it’s another move on the Warriors/Panthers trade route but there have been a few more movements between these two teams than most are talking about and I roll through the long list beyond the paywall.
As is now the case in most positions since the two Andys took over, NZW have plenty of dummy half and small forward depth. Wayde Egan and Sam Healey will cover most of the NRL duties at dummy half but coach Andrew Webster has shown a preference for having a genuine utility on the bench and that’s still going to be Te Maire Martin.
The two Andys have built out the small forward depth as well and it’s clear that coach Webster likes this role, so Andrew McFadden ensured a steady supply. Erin Clark has the NRL role sussed out and then players like Martin have also dabbled in middle forward mahi, plus Healey has had NRL game time with Egan still on the field - playing as a middle forward.
The NSW Cup team often had two dummy halves on the field together because one was playing as a small forward. Not only have Healey and Martin gathered experienced as small forwards, but the next best hookers in Makaia Tafua and Jacob Auloa are getting more of that experience at an earlier stage of their development.
Tafua and Auloa usually had game time together in Under 21s this year. Tafua played the most NSW Cup and most of that was alongside Healey, while Auloa did the same in smaller doses. I’m not sure about the status of Etuate Fukofuka but he is more like Clark and could settle into a regular NSW Cup groove next season if he’s still at Mt Smart.
Tafua and Auloa are so physical that they are earning game time as small forwards already. Sure, Lussick was named at prop for a bunch of NSW Cup games this year and folks love to giggle at that, but Tafua and Auloa were also playing as middle forwards in the same team. They are primed to take over from Lussick at the NSW Cup level and they will be ideal bench options for the NRL team in the next few seasons.
NZW also signed Braelan Marsh from Redcliffe and he is probably more of a crafty dummy half to balance out the Tafua/Auloa style. Marsh is younger as well and NZW are doing a stellar job of having talent at every level.
Musical jam...
Nick’s Notebook
The Women’s National League Grand Final is happening on Saturday evening at 6pm between Auckland United and Eastern Suburbs. In a change from previous years, which usually put the deciders at stadiums (can’t really afford that now that the MNL and WNL finals are on different days), this one will be hosted by Auckland United as the top qualifier. Keith Hay Park... where AUFC have not conceded a goal during the Nats. Although they did lose 1-0 away to Wellington United last week. Slightly rotated line-up and also a dead rubber from their perspective. But it was a first defeat at National League level since October 2023 (coincidentally against Eastern Suburbs). They’d been undefeated in 26 previous matches (23 wins, 3 draws... scoring 76 goals and only conceding 11).
Auckland United in the 2025 WNL
First Place | 7W 1D 1L | 32 goals scored, 3 conceded
Captain: Talisha Green
Top Scorer: Ava Collins, Chloe Knott, Kiara Bercelli, Zoe Benson – All with 4 goals
Assist Leader: Alexis Cook – 6
Expected Line-up (4-3-3): Hannah Mitchell | Talisha Green, Jess Philpot, Alaina Granger, Tui Dugan | Yume Harashima, Chloe Knott, Kiara Bercelli | Rene Wasi, Zoe Benson, Shev Edwards
Eastern Suburbs in the 2025 WNL
Second Place | 6W 2D 1L | 30 goals scored, 6 conceded
Captain: Rebekah van Dort
Top Scorer: Vicky Neuefeind, Ruby Nathan, Tayla O’Brien – All with 5 goals
Assist Leader: Vicky Neuefeind – 6
Expected Line-up (3-4-3): Corina Brown | Yuki Nishizono, Rebekah van Dort, Kenya Brooke | Nicole Mettam, Stacey Martin, TJ Anderson, Charley March | Vicky Neuefeind, Tayla O’Brien (or Ella Findlay), Ruby Nathan
These two drew 1-1 when they faced each other midseason, that was a Suburbs home game although they played it on the Fencibles turf since it was a midweeker that needed proper floodlights. Ruby Nathan scored after 49 minutes to give ESAFC the lead but Ava Pritchard snatched an 88th minute equaliser. Otherwise, the results throughout the season have been extremely similar from both sides with the only major difference being that Auckland Utd found a winner against West Coast Rangers (from a dodgy 77th min penalty) whereas Eastern Subs did not (they went very close... but also didn’t need to, with a draw still working out well for them – even though they played more than half the game against ten women).
Eastern Suburbs won the 2022 edition. Auckland United won the 2023 and 2024 editions. So these are the most recent champions in action. Eastern Suburbs are on a seven-game unbeaten streak during which they’ve only conceded three times... that streak coinciding exactly with Rebekah van Dort’s return to the club after some time in Australia. The Lilywhites do have a few injuries, with Cema Nasau, Emily Pilbrow, and Sam Tawharu all having missed games lately.
Auckland United will be without Annalie Longo for international duty but actually Longo has only made two appearances (one start) during this National League run so that’s negligible. Ava Collins was awesome to begin the season but only played the first two games and the trip to China. Alexis Cook has also disappeared since then. Auckland United have the reputation but everything we’ve seen through the last couple months seems to suggest a very, very even contest.
There’s also a double-double header between Aotearoa and Australia happening this weekend. The Football Ferns face the Matildas in two games of women’s football… and the Tall Blacks face the Boomers in two games of men’s basketball. There’s a full preview of the Football Ferns games over here if you want the extended yarns (and why wouldn’t you), keeping you covered since none of the mainstream media even seem to realise this series is happening.
We got lovely widespread promotion when the All Whites played Australia a few weeks ago (in part because one of those was a home game and they needed to sell tickets… which they did with 18k fans turning up to Mt Smart Stadium for a 3-1 loss in what was probably our worst performance of 2025) but the likes of Stuff and NZ Herald didn’t even bother publishing anything about the squad announcement, despite numerous funky elements to it (some good, some confusing).
As far as the match-up with Australia goes, here’s the relevant info...
The last time we beat Australia was in 1994 when Wendy Sharpe scored a double in Port Moresby for a 2-1 victory. There are only two players in the current squad who were even born when that happened (Esson and Longo). Since then the two teams have met on 33 occasions and it doesn’t make for encouraging reading...
33 G | 0 W | 3 D | 30 L | 13 GF | 76 GA
We’ve been held scoreless in 22/33 games... although only in two of the past eight. The Ferns have scored multiple goals in exactly two of those matches. Gabi Rennie is the only player in the current squad who has scored against Australia before. 26/33 games, soon to be 28/35 games, were hosted by Australia.
(For you lovely subscribers, I’ve laid out my preferred Football Ferns starting eleven in the bonus section… along with some Chris Wood stats and of course our Bonus Podcast)
In contrast, the Tall Blacks beat Australia the very last time out… that was in Hamilton earlier this year. Admittedly we’d only won 1/12 games against them across the previous 15 years but they do say you’re only as good as your last game. Typical for international basketball, both squads are quite different from that series. That’s just how it goes. The Tall Blacks have also had to make two changes to the initial team that was named with Max Darling and Shea Ili having to drop out with injury, they’ve been replaced by Jackson Ball and Taine Murray. Leaves us pretty short on point guards but hey what else is new?
Tall Blacks squad:
PG - Taylor Britt | Izayah Le’Afa
SG – Mojave King | Taine Murray
SF - Flynn Cameron | Carlin Davison
PF – Finn Delany | Tohi Smith-Milner
C – Yanni Wetzell | Sam Mennenga | Tyrell Harrison
Amazing depth in the centre position and we’ll definitely see combinations of those guys out there together – ie Mennenga at power forward alongside Harrison, that kinda thing. It’s a massive team and that’s the advantage that Judd Flavell is going to want to lean into… against his former mentor in Dean Vickerman, who is stepping up as interim boss for this series with the usual bloke unavailable. The Ferns won’t beat the Tillies but the Tall Blacks have a chance here (in what are technically Asian Cup qualifying games).
Australian Boomers squad:
Will Hickey, Alex Ducas, Josh Bannan, Elijah Pepper, Jack White, Dash Daniels, Keanu Pinder, Angus Glover, Jordan Hunter, Jaylin Galloway, Nick Kay, Ben Ayre
MNL Team of the Week #9
GK – Quillan Roberts (Western Suburbs) – Another superb outing from Guyana’s favourite diasporic son. It was this bloke and this bloke alone who stopped 16yo phenom Matias Nunez from having a dream debut for Auckland United. Would have preferred the alternative, tbh, but gotta respect the reality.
RB – Kaleb de Groot-Green (Coastal Spirit) – It was either going to be him or Noa Prestel because Coastal Spirit were pretty outstanding in shutting down Western Springs – the first team to keep Springs scoreless this National League – on the way to a 1-0 win as the last-placed team beat the first-placed team.
CB – Nikko Boxall (Auckland City) – Probably one of the most accomplished ex-pros in the competition and he clearly could still be playing at that level if he felt like it. Superb athlete, wonderful defender, absolutely imposing, and nobody jumps higher.
CB – Theo Ettema (Miramar Rangers) – Third week in a row that he’s made it, fourth overall, but what can you do when Miramar Rangers keep winning and Theo Ettema keeps scoring goals? He’s got three this season and Rangers are now top of the table.
LB – Jonathan Robinson (Western Suburbs) – Attacking fullbacks are so much fun... especially when they dribble from halfway and beat multiple tacklers on the way to a last-minute winning goal.
CM – Joe Hoole (Coastal Spirit) – Again, wasn’t sure which Coastal bro to pick because Hoole and Mason Stearn were both great running all day in that midfield. As they do every week, to be fair, such an underrated duo. Consider it a shared recognition. In fact, bugger it, let’s just do this…
CM - Mason Stearn (Coastal Spirit) – There we go.
CM – David Yoo (Auckland City) – No goals or assists this week but he was the instigator of so much for ACFC, given a deeper and wider role than usual and using extra room to run at defenders and flick that switch for the Navy Blues. So good to watch when he’s in that mood. Matt Ellis did similar on the other side too.
FW – Joel Stevens (Christchurch United) – Easy decision after he scored a spectacular free kick and then set up the other two goals as the Rams twice came from behind to beat his old mates at Wellington Olympic... and shake up the race for the grand final in the process.
FW – Gianni Bouzoukis (Wellington Olympic) – His team suffered a pretty stunning defeat but Bouzoukis scored twice and now has four goals in his last three matches, well and truly over his drought from earlier in the term.
FW – Jackson Cole (Christchurch United) – The speedster up front… for much of the season he’s been alternating starts with Bray Whitecliffe but Cole has now been influential in consecutive wins for the Rams, scoring the 88th min winner against Olympic this week and keeping hope alive for his team’s grand final dreams.
Musical Jam...
