Freshening Up
Blackcaps Test captaincy, Aotearoa spin bowling, an U17 Men's footy squad, and some National League Team of the Season clues
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The Six Aotearoa Warriors Juniors To Learn About (Rugby League)
Francis Manuleleua And The Kiwi-NRL Panthers (Rugby League)
The Kiwi-NRL Juniors Who Helped Australian Teams Make Finals In 2022 (Rugby League)
Flying Kiwis – December 14 (Football)
How Are The Wellington Phoenix Lads Looking Ahead of the A-League’s Return? (Football)
The Breakers Have Rediscovered Their Mana, Aotearoa Rejoice (Basketball)
2022/23 Ford Trophy: Notes From Central Districts vs Auckland (Cricket)
2022/23 Ford Trophy: Northern Defeat Wellington, Otago Defeat Canterbury (Cricket)
Scotty’s Word
This is a lovely space to flesh out some ideas, work through ponderings and come out the other side with crisp insights. So let's do a Blackcaps Test workout...
Blackcaps are 8th in the World Test Championship, with a 2-6 record and winning percentage of 25.93. Bangladesh is the only team below Blackcaps on the WTC ladder and along with the kiwis, they are the only teams who have fewer than four wins. Aotearoa has played the fewest amount of games (nine) and they are the only team in the WTC with four consecutive losses in their last five games.
That is the reality of Blackcaps Test cricket right now.
Nothing about the previous WTC cycle applies to this cycle, so release the past. Be present with a Test team that kinda needs a freshen up. This all feels very fresh.
Kane Williamson didn't want to be Test captain any more, he still wants to be ODI and T20I captain. All good. In this WTC cycle, Williamson has played three Tests with 138 runs @ 23avg and he could benefit from a freshen up himself.
Many folks have made the assumption that Tom Latham was being brewed as the next Test captain. Latham took on the captain duties when Williamson was absent and it's easy to see how this could be a succession plan, although it is an assumption. Maybe Latham didn't actually want the full-time gig?
There are a lot of 'winning percentage' captaincy stats floating around with this news. I keep checking on how players perform with different captains and Latham's Test average of 41.88 when he is not captain, drops down to 31.07 as captain. Maybe Latham has some self-awareness and understands how captaincy impacts his batting?
Williamson and Latham are quite similar as well. Southee has a bit more funk, he seems to be a louder character. Blackcaps just had a mellow leader in Williamson so maybe Southee invigorates the team. Southee is yet to play as the Test captain. His bowling average goes from 24.56 under Williamson, up to 36.37avg with Latham as skipper.
There may also be a perception of Southee that doesn't align with Test captain mana. I experience this myself as I have been steadily surprised by how much Southee loves cricket. Southee is doing the opposite of Trent Boult and after slipping out of the ODI 1st 11 around the 2019 World Cup, Southee forced his way back in as an all-format Blackcap.
Folks are buzzing about Blackcaps leaving their contracts, meanwhile Southee has increased his Blackcaps workload. In our NZ Warriors Patreon podcast this week, I highlighted how a bunch of new Warriors want to be in Aotearoa (Marata Niukore loves Mangere, Dylan Walker loves being Maori) and they want to represent Warriors.
Southee loves playing for Aotearoa. He loves Blackcaps cricket. As Boult picked his spots, Southee doubled-down on being available. Representing Aotearoa for as long as Southee has, and as long as he wants to, requires constant growth and improvement. Southee is in his best year of ODI bowling since 2011 and his mana is evident in the desire to represent Aotearoa, along with his desire to improve as a bowler and leader.
In our Patreon podcast last week, we embraced the comparison between Blackcaps and England. We are seeing the value of turangawaewae and mana in NZ Breakers returning to Aotearoa, as well as Wellington Phoenix. This will boost NZ Warriors matters as well. These values diminish as folks try to emulate someone else's identity, so it's not as simple as 'copying England'.
This is like rugby union teams copying the All Blacks 60-minute rotations. All Blacks (and the best teams) do this because they have a bench full of players who would start for other nations. With less talent, other teams copy this rotation and they play the last 10-20 minutes with weaker players. Copy the best, but focus on your identity and the tools you have.
Blackcaps will not be as aggressive as England against Pakistan. The 'freshen up' does signal a slightly more attacking shift though, evident in comparing Southee to Williamson and Latham. Selecting Ish Sodhi and Glenn Phillips is part of this, cricketers who attack the game.
These lads have been described as T20 cricketers. Selecting T20 cricketers to play Tests conveniently falls into the bucket of playing more aggressive Test cricket. Sodhi and Phillips are also among Aotearoa's best longform cricketers though.
Sodhi has taken 279 First-Class wickets @ 33.72avg and this puts him in the top-three for Aotearoa FC spinners - only a smidge worst than Ajaz Patel's 296w @ 32.37avg. Will Somerville is consistently solid for Auckland in all formats and he is the only notable kiwi spinner with a FC average below 30.
Will Somerville
FC: 29.38avg/2.62rpo
LA: 35.10avg/4.77rpo
Ajaz Patel
FC: 32.37avg/3.11rpo
LA: 39.33avg/5.34rpo
Ish Sodhi
FC: 33.72avg/3.5rpo
LA: 31.06avg/5.07rpo
Michael Rippon
FC: 34.41avg/3.56rpo
LA: 27.51avg/4.99rpo
Mitchell Santner
FC: 47.22avg/2.94rpo
LA: 33.51avg/4.68rpo
Michael Bracewell
FC: 49avg/3.58rpo
LA: 37.21avg/5.14rpo
Rachin Ravindra
FC: 50.42avg/3.45rpo
LA: 54.57avg/4.99rpo
The Aotearoa spin landscape is all about vibe. Patel and Sodhi are the only spinners averaging below 35 in FC and LA cricket. Stats for any kiwi spinner can be twisted in their favour or as a negative. This was the case a few years ago when Todd Astle was in the mix. Aotearoa does not have a dominant spinner right now, but we do have plenty of options.
This yarn breaks down Blackcaps spin stuff as of April 2021.
Patel and Sodhi are in the Test squad along with Michael Bracewell. Bracewell offers batting cover, while Patel is an accurate lefty and as leggy Sodhi is naturally an attacking option. Somerville didn't snap up his opportunity in India last year and having two finger spinners in Pakistan would be tame.
Phillips has a FC batting average of 39.83 and he went 50+ on Test debut in Australia. Phillips averages over 33 in FC, List-A, and T20 with strike-rates that align with each format. Will Young, Daryl Mitchell and Henry Nicholls all have FC batting averages between 39-41. Phillips is right there with them.
What about Blair Tickner? Southee and Matt Henry are the nibblers, Neil Wagner and Tickner are the bullies. Having some bullies will be useful in Pakistan. Jacob Duffy is snaring lots of wickets in Aotearoa this season but he is more aligned with the Southee/Henry style.
Aotearoa won't be as aggressive/reckless as England in Pakistan, yet Blackcaps have made a few moves to ensure they have an attacking approach in Pakistan. Being 2-6 in the WTC means something was stale and perhaps this freshen up bumps kiwi cricket back into a funky Test space. In the same way that NZ Warriors enter a new cycle after their niggly pandemic era, Blackcaps have found a natural shift as this cycle comes to an end. Cycles/eras are coming to an end.
Ford Trophy Most Runs
Rob O'Donnell: 199 runs @ 49.75avg/61.99sr, 3 x 50
Dane Cleaver: 197 runs @ 49.25avg/97.52sr, 2 x 50
Chad Bowes: 195 runs @ 48.75avg/98.48sr, 2 x 50
Will Young: 180 runs @ 90avg/97.82sr, 1 x 100
Katene Clarke: 175 runs @ 35avg/105.42sr, 1 x 50
Ford Trophy Most Wickets
Henry Shipley: 12w @ 11.91avg/4.20rpo
Jacob Duffy: 11w @ 11.27avg/3.49rpo
Seth Rance: 11w @ 11.81avg/3.09rpo
Ollie Newton: 10w @ 17.20avg/5.21rpo
Michael Snedden: 10w @ 17.80avg/6.28rp
HBJ Shield cricket is back this weekend as well. Here are the best wahine cricketers in HBJ Shield who have played more than one game...
Kate Ebrahim: 168 runs @ 168avg/63.39sr, 1 x 100, 1 x 50
Bernadine Bezuidenhout: 163 runs @ 163avg/100sr, 1 x 100, 1 x 50
Caitlin Gurrey: 141 runs @ 47avg/81.5avg, 2 x 50
Gabby Sullivan: 6w @ 7.33avg/3.25rpo
Caitlin Blakely: 6w @ 14.66avg/5.50rpo
Jess Watkin: 58 runs @ 29avg/90.62avg, 1 x 50 | 4w @ 10.50avg/3rpo
Musical jam…
Wildcard’s Notebook
And so ends Kane Williamson’s time as Blackcaps Test captain. He took over in 2016 upon Brendon McCullum’s retirement and he hands the reins over to Tim Southee after six and a half years service.
Williamson took charge of 40 Tests as captain which is a lot more than it sounds. It’s exactly half of Stephen Fleming’s tenure but then Flem captained the third most Tests in history (it goes: Graeme Smith 109, Allan Border 93, Stephen Fleming 80, Ricky Ponting 77). Plus Williamson still nearly caught Fleming’s total wins as captain.
No Blackcaps captain has ever had a better winning record than Kane Williamson: 22 wins, 8 draws, 10 defeats. That’s a 55% win rate and, incredibly, that’s eighth all time for captains who took charge of at least 20 matches (no surprises that Steve Waugh is number one – 41 wins from 57 games as skipper). The most memorable of those wins surely being the Test Championship Final.
Most Wins As Blackcaps Captain
Stephen Fleming – 28 wins (80 matches/35%)
Kane Williamson – 22 wins (40 matches/55%)
Geoff Howarth – 11 wins (30 matches/36.7%)
Brendon McCullum – 11 wins (31 matches/35.5%)
Daniel Vettori – 6 wins (32 matches/18.8%)
Jeremy Coney – 5 wins (15 matches/33.3%)
When you look at it from that perspective it really hammers home what an unprecedented era of success the Blackcaps have had under Williamson’s leadership. The only captains in the 92 year history of the team with more wins than losses during their tenure are: Coney, Howarth, Fleming, and Williamson. Fleming only just got there with a very even spread of 28 wins, 25 draws, and 27 losses. Win/Loss ratio of 1.03. Howarth had a solid 11 wins to 7 losses (and 12 draws) during the first half of the 1980s, which led nicely into the Coney days (5 wins, 6 draws, 4 losses). Meanwhile Williamson has a Win/Loss ratio of 2.2... there’s nobody else even close.
Here’s another one you’ll enjoy:
Kane Williamson captaincy record:
40 matches | 22 wins (55%) | 8 draws (20%) | 10 losses (25%)
Steve Smith captaincy record:
35 matches | 19 wins (54.3%) | 6 draws (17.1%) | 10 losses (28.6%)
Tim Southee will become the 31st man to captain the Blackcaps when he takes charge in Pakistan. Thirteen of those previous 30 never won a single match so that’s the first target. Southee has captained one ODI and 22 T20Is so this’ll complete the set for him.
Can’t say much about one captained ODI (a six-wicket loss to England at Mount Maunganui in 2018)… but tell ya what, his T20 record is fantastic. 13 wins from 22 games (6 losses and, strangely, 3 ties). Although not as good as Tom Latham as an ODI captain: 19 wins, 1 loss, 1 no result.
Hopefully this is a trend that’ll continue on into the Test format now...
Tim Southee as T20I captain: 33 WKT @ 18.7 AVE | 7.74 RPO | 14.4 SR
Tim Southee when not T20I captain: 101 WKT @ 25.37 AVE | 8.27 RPO | 18.3 SR
Admittedly 16/22 of his games as T20 captain were in Aotearoa so that does skew things somewhat. However that does include a 5-game series against England (drawn 2-2 with a tie in the decider – not considering super overs here, no sir/ma’am) and five games against India (three at home, two away). There’s also a 2-1 series win away against Sri Lanka in there. It’s not like it was all whupping on touring Bangladesh teams, although he did captain the Blackcaps to a 3-0 sweep over the Tigers last year.
Pretty fascinating U17s team picked for the Oceania champs next month. Not often you see a team with one player from Manchester City and another from Havelock North Wanderers…
Marley Leuluai is the Man City kid. Holder of a famous name in Aotearoa sports and keeping up the whanau’s good work albeit with a different shaped ball. Marley is the son of Kylie Leuluai, rugby league legend most notably of Leeds Rhinos (whom he played for 258 times winning six Super League titles). Kylie never played for the Kiwis though he did represent NZ Maori and Samoa. His cousin Thomas Leuluai, on the other hand... Kiwis legend. As was Thomas’ dad and Kylie’s uncle James Leuluai.
Marley has been in the Man City academy since he was in Primary School. He’s 16 years old now, a tough athletic centre-back, tall with a good touch. Not that I’ve seen him play at all. Only know the bloke by reputation so looking forward to these Oceania champs to get a look at what he’s up to.
Him and all these other lads too because Under 17s footy is the first point at which players get national recognition. Whereas the majority of the Women’s U17 World Cup squad from a few months back played in the 2022 National League, very few of these blokes did the same. In fact the only one who did was Jackson Cole of Christchurch United who made three subs appearances at the end of the term. Meaning that he’s probably the only one of these players I’ve seen in action before... and it’s not like sub cameos at the end of the season are the best scouting indicators.
But there are a few funky stories amongst this lot. Luka Coveny is there. Son of Vaughn – the All Whites second top goal scorer. Luka Coveny played for the Australian U16s earlier this year so this is a pleasant development. Anton Isaako is another A-League youth teamer in this squad. Both are eligible for Australia and at this age they’re free to go back and forth.
There’s also Adam Watson at Stoke City who is currently doing his best for their U18s team having scored twice from eight games this season. Adam is the son of Dave Watson who spent 18 years as the physio of the club that his son is now rising up the ranks of. He only left the role two years ago.
Stoke Sentinel: “Watson had been a decent player himself, a centre-half known as Big Dave, and had a trial for the New Zealand national team having won the national league title with Dunedin Technical and been part of the Napier City team which reached the New Zealand cup final. But he had to retire due to injury at the age of 24 and backpacking around the world eventually brought him to England, where he has family. He began work as a locum physio in 2000 where ports of call included the then North Staffs Hospital and Haywood Hospital, in Burslem, then work for the company which provided Stoke’s physios. He was soon recruited by Tony Pulis on a permanent basis.”
Or how about Konstantino Gorgiovski? Not often you see a mention of a Macedonian club in an NZ Football announcement. Dunno how long he lived in Aotearoa but it was long enough to class himself as a dual national on his very active YouTube channel.
Those are the five foreign-based guys involved (which is four more than the U19s team had for their Oceania qualifiers a few months back). Elsewhere there are six Wellington Phoenix academy lads plus two from Western Suburbs/Ole Academy. Lovely to see Ole back in the mix having not had much to do with the last wave – at least not in qualifying because I’m pretty sure that Kees Sims will come in for the actual World Cup.
That’s less Welly Nix representation than we’ve seen from other recent NZ youth teams… which is probably a good thing. Wanna have those diverse pathways available. On that note, love that we’ve got a couple blokes from outside the Auckland/Wellington/Christchurch focal points too. All these games will be live streamed on the Oceania Football website as per usual.
Essential Steven Adams chat on injured teammate Danny Green’s podcast...
NZ Football announced their Men’s National League team of the season yesterday, sneaky buggers getting in there a week before The Niche Cache’s own triple-banger efforts. But I have finished selecting the teams. First XI, Second XI, Third XI for both Men’s and Women’s competitions. Here’s that NZF effort...
They hype up the stats that they use but I dunno what those stats are exactly (nor do I have any access to them). They must be pretty deep to find a way in for Noah Karunaratne with his 0 goals and 0 assists as a left winger though. NK’s a very tidy Nix prospect so don’t take that the wrong way, just surprised to see him in the team.
To be fair, it’s a respectable team on the whole. There are two players in the NZF group who don’t even make my third eleven however there’s a crossover of six jerries are between my first team and NZF’s. Two more of those dudes make my second team instead. The other bloke is in my thirds. Allowing for differing opinions and whatnot, can’t really argue too much with that.
We’ll see if they do the same for the ladies... TNC definitely will so no dramas there. You’ll have to wait for the articles to get written to see the teams, they should both be published next week, but in the meantime I’ll give you a few clues about the make-up of my First XIs…
MEN: Wellington Olympic x3, Auckland City x3, Birkenhead Utd x2, Auckland Utd x2, Cashmere Tech
WOMEN: Eastern Suburbs x4, Western Springs x3, Northern Rovers x2, Canterbury Utd, Southern Utd
(Assuming I don’t change my mind between now and then)