Lapping The Field
Blackcaps in Champions Trophy, Warriors in NRL, White Ferns vs Sri Lanka, NZ NBL preview, Tyler Bindon, Kiwi-NRL cuts & heaps more
Scotty’s Word
Blackcaps defeated South Africa and move into the Champions Trophy final. I've got heaps of stats listed below and want to take a moment to bask in the pool of kiwi cricket excellence. Aotearoa is the smallest Test playing nation (or collection of nations for West Indies) and aside from the 2024 T20 World Cup, Blackcaps always seem to make the semi-finals of major tournaments with a bit of World Test Championship glory sprinkled in.
Five consecutive World Cup semi-finals. Made the final in three of the last four ODI tournaments.
Three consecutive T20 World Cup semi-finals with one appearance in final before a stink 2024 T20WC.
Won the first World Test Championship. Top-four in two of three WTC.
The 3-0 Test series sweep in India didn't involve Kane Williamson or Trent Boult. Blackcaps are now in a Champions Trophy final without Boult or Tim Southee. Add in how Blackcaps have absorbed tough phases with various retirements and this another wee example that New Zealand cricket is doing something right.
My favourite nugget, well aside from Matt Henry kinda becoming a kiwi legend with better stats than Southee and not far behind Boult, is Rachin Ravindra's strike-rate. Ravindra has an ODI career strike-rate of 108.7 and a List-A strike-rate of 102.4, both of which are crazy for a top-order batter.
Ravindra doesn't just score lots of runs, he cruises along smashing classy boundaries. He hit 112 runs @ 106.6sr vs Bangladesh and followed it up with 108 runs @ 106.9sr vs South Africa. During the World Cup last in 2023, Ravindra had 578 runs @ 64.2avg/106.4sr and in this Champions Trophy he has 226 runs @ 75.3avg/103.6sr.
All of which stacks up well in the cricketing world...
Highest strike-rates for ODI batters with 1,000+ runs and 40+ averages
Heinrich Klaasen: 2,141 runs @ 43.69avg/117.05sr
Rachin Ravindra: 1,196 runs @ 44.29avg/108.72sr
Travis Head: 2,767 runs @ 43.92avg/104.89sr
Ben Duckett: 1,058 runs @ 50.38avg/103.92sr
David Miller: 4,611 runs @ 42.3avg/103.68sr
Here are all the other Blackcaps bits and bobs to boost your kiwi sports yarns...
ODIs this year: 8-2
ODIs since start of 2023: 23-21
ODIs since start of 2020: 39-26
ODIs since start of 2019: 52-33
Champions Trophy stats
Batting
Rachin Ravindra: 226 runs @ 75avg/104sr
Tom Latham: 191 runs @ 63avg/93sr
Kane Williamson: 189 runs @ 47avg/86sr
Will Young: 150 runs @ 37avg/85sr
Glenn Phillips: 143 runs @ 71avg/140sr
Daryl Mitchell: 76 runs @ 25avg/79sr
Mitchell Santner: 30 runs @ 30avg/94sr
Devon Conway: 40 runs @ 20avg/64sr
Michael Bracewell: 29 runs @ 14avg/100sr
Bowling
Matt Henry: 10w @ 16avg/5.3rpo
Mitchell Santner: 7w @ 27avg/4.8rpo
Michael Bracewell: 6w @ 28avg/4.4rpo
Will O'Rourke: 6w @ 35avg/5.8rpo
Rachin Ravindra: 2w @ 25avg/4.6rpo
Glenn Phillips: 2w @ 50avg/7.1rpo
Kyle Jamieson: 2w @ 68avg/5.6rpo
Nathan Smith: 1w @ 20avg/10rpo
2025 ODI stats
Batting
Kane Williamson: 414 runs @ 69avg/88sr
Rachin Ravindra: 376 runs @ 53avg/110sr
Glenn Phillips: 319 runs @ 79avg/125sr
Will Young: 284 runs @ 31avg/86sr
Daryl Mitchell: 264 runs @ 33avg/91sr
Tom Latham: 248 runs @ 31avg/89sr
Devon Conway: 185 runs @ 46avg/76sr
Mark Chapman: 172 runs @ 86avg/102sr
Michael Bracewell: 75 runs @ 18avg/100sr
Mitchell Santner: 60 runs @ 20avg/89sr
Bowling
Matt Henry: 24w @ 15avg/4.8rpo
Mitchell Santner: 16w @ 25avg/4.4rpo
Will O'Rourke: 15w @ 34avg/5.8rpo
Michael Bracewell: 12w @ 28avg/4.3rpo
Nathan Smith: 6w @ 34avg/6.4rpo
Jacob Duffy: 5w @ 23avg/5.6rpo
Glenn Phillips: 3w @ 57avg/6.5rpo
Rachin Ravindra: 2w @ 32avg/4.6rpo
Kyle Jamieson: 2w @ 68avg/5.6rpo
Rachin Ravindra
Career mahi
Test: 37.7avg/56sr
ODI: 44.2avg/108.7sr
T20I: 17.1avg/127.6sr
ODI batting by year
2023: 41avg/108sr, 3 x 100, 3 x 50
2024: 53.7avg/110sr, 2 x 100, 1 x 50
100+ scores vs Australia, Bangladesh, England, Pakistan, South Africa
Last 10 games: 69, 45, 79, 1, 48, 25, 112, 6, 108
Kane Williamson
In tournaments
World Cup: 61.4avg/81sr
Champions Trophy: 59.3avg/89sr
Last three years of ODI batting
2022: 54.2avg/64sr, 1 x 50
2023: 70avg/87sr, 5 x 50
2025: 69avg/88sr, 2 x 100, 2 x 50
By location
Home: 45.4avg/80sr
Away: 43.7avg/81sr
Neutral: 76.5avg/85sr
vs South Africa: 60.3avg/87sr, 4 x 100, 3 x 50
Matt Henry
Best years of ODI bowling
2014: 19w @ 15.2avg/5.1rpo
2025: 24w @ 15.5avg/4.8rpo
2021: 6w @ 16.8avg/3.4rpo
2023: 18w @ 23.1avg/4.7rpo
Wickets in last 10 games: 1, 2, 0, 3, 2, 2, 2, 1, 5, 2
Mitchell Santner
Best years of ODI bowling
2025: 16w @ 25.8avg/4.4rpo
2021: 4w @ 20.2avg/3.8rpo
2017: 26w @ 26.3avg/4.6rpo
2016: 18w @ 34.7avg/4.6rpo
By location
Home: 35avg/4.8po
Away: 36.7avg/4.8rp
Neutral: 35.9avg/4.7rpo
Wickets in last 10 games: 0, 2, 3, 0, 2, 2, 3, 0, 1, 3
Glenn Phillips
ODI batting by year
2022: 31.4avg/96sr
2023: 36.1avg/98sr, 4 x 50
2024: 12avg/77sr
2025: 79.7avg/126sr, 1 x 100, 1 x 50
Last 10 games: 21, 35, 106*, 28*, 20*, 46, 61, 21*, 12, 49*
In tournaments
World Cup: 40.7avg/112sr
Champions Trophy: 71.5avg/140sr
Career mahi
Test: 33avg/72sr | 31avg/3.6rpo
ODI: 39.9avg/104sr | 44.1avg/6rpo
T20I: 31.1avg/141sr | 26.1avg/7.3rpo
Daryl Mitchell
ODI batting by year
2021: 112 runs @ 114.2sr, 1 x 100
2022: 37.2avg/84sr, 2 x 50
2023: 52.3avg/100sr, 5 x 100, 3 x 50
2025: 33avg/91sr, 2 x 50
ODI scores this year: 38, 2, 81, 10, 57, 10, 17, 49
Career mahi
Test: 43.8avg/53sr
ODI: 48.4avg/97sr
T20I: 26.6avg/139sr
Michael Bracewell
ODI bowling by year
2022: 10w @ 41avg/5.1rpo
2023: 5w @ 44.8avg/5rpo
2024: 5w @ 21.8avg/5.7rpo
2025: 12w @ 28.3avg/4.3rpo
By location
Home: 26.5avg/5.3rpo
Away: 37.3avg/4.9rpo
Neutral: 29.6avg/4.5rpo
Big thanks to everyone who has upgraded to a paid subscription to support our mahi and access even more New Zealand sports notes beyond the wall. In the paid section there is our Bonus Podcast which is recorded every Thursday and I have Plunket Shield team notes, a very rough top-10 young female cricketers in Aotearoa and a bunch Kiwi-NRL deep cuts from the first full round of reserve grade and Under 21 Jersey Flegg.
White Ferns started their ODI series vs Sri Lanka on Tuesday with a strong bowling/fielding performance before rain washed away the game. Sri Lanka was on 147/5 @ 4rpo and here is the bowling stuff...
Bree Illing: 2w @ 4.2rpo
Hannah Rowe: 8ov @ 4rpo
Jess Kerr: 1w @ 3.1rpo
Eden Carson: 6ov @ 5.6rpo
Suzie Bates: 1w @ 3rpo
Carson didn't have the best outing with the ball but she had a fabulous run-out...
Emma McLeod was due to bat third for White Ferns and she looked comfortable in the field. It's simple but like Carson, players stand out with athleticism in the field and strong throws. McLeod moves well in the field and has a decent throwing arm and this is a thread to watch out for with White Ferns as Carson, Georgia Plimmer, both Kerr sisters and Maddy Green are all above-average fielders.
Polly Inglis played as the wicket-keeper with Izzy Gaze in the team as a batter. Understandably, Gaze isn't as slick in the field as the others but I don't mind her batting in the middle order where her attacking strokes can be useful for White Ferns. Inglis is a better wicket-keeper and batter than Gaze though, so this is still an intriguing battle throughout the series.
Another thing I'm tracking is a more vibrant White Ferns team. The worst element of White Ferns cricket in recent years has been how tense they seem, as if they are always under pressure even when they shouldn't be. There are a few players missing for this series vs Sri Lanka and that may be a factor, especially with Suzie Bates being captain of a younger squad which is similar to a fun Otago Sparks outfit.
I'll chill on being dramatic and will settle on a cluster of young players adding vitality to the White Ferns.
Are we sure Andrew Webster is a good coach?
As I laid out in this NZ Warriors deep dive, all the issues after the loss vs Canberra Raiders don't reflect well on the coach. We are now at a stage where NZW have been underwhelming for most of Webster's time as coach and that's weird to think about given how fun the 2023 season was.
The good news for NZ Warriors is that most of the NSW Cup team are pushing for NRL opportunities. This is led by Rocco Berry, Moala Graham-Taufa, Te Maire Martin, Tanah Boyd, Samuel Healey, Tom Ale, Bunty Afoa and Jacob Laban who are all starting this week. Kalani Going has played NRL and could earn a promotion in the small forward role. Eddie Ieremia-Toeava and Tanner Stowers-Smith the potential to debut this season, while Sio Kali is a freaky outside back talent and his swift rise could surprise folks.
Then there is Toby Crosby on the bench.
Crosby's spot on the bench is funky because that was Zyon Maiu'u's spot. Ale and Afoa were the starting props when not playing NRL, with Going at lock. Stowers-Smith was usually on the bench and Ieremia-Toeava played some games in the middle, which usually left Maiu'u on the bench. Now Crosby has been promoted as a sign of the depth of talent in the NZW pipeline.
Salesi Foketi (Manurewa) is named on the bench for Roosters to make his NRL debut vs Broncos tonight.
Players who departed NZ Warriors this summer…
Maiu'u departed NZW at the NSW Cup level.
Kaawyn Patterson (Westlake Boys), Hudsyn Frost (Otahuhu), Jackson Stewart (Hornby) and Ezekiel Faga-Ieti (Hornby) were notable departures from the U17/U19 tier.
At the U21 level there is Malachi Filipo (Mt Albert) named at starting prop for Bulldogs, Siale Faeamani (St Peter's College) named at starting centre for Panthers and Ben Peni (Papatoetoe) named on the bench for Sharks.
Another example of rugby league's growth in Aotearoa on the women's side is how Panthers don't have an NRLW team but they have recruited wahine from Aotearoa to play for their Under 19 Tarsha Gale Cup team. This is similar to Bulldogs who recruited lots of youngsters from Aotearoa before having an NRLW team and now their NRLW squad has a bunch of those players.
In the Panthers U19 team this round...
Dejah Tuliau (Linwood), Danica Talitonu (Manukura), Kyra-Lee Westland (Hornby), Malena Lavea (Richmond), Kahlanie Hebden-Salase (Onerahi)
That group has one player from Northland, one from Auckland, one from Palmerston North and two from Christchurch. Fabulous regional spread.
Musical jam…
Wildcard’s Notebook
Believe it or not, the New Zealand NBL tips off next week. They’re doing the preseason blitz stuff as we speak. Plus, happily, following up from Monday’s newsletter the Indian Panthers have actually signed a couple of players now... as well as announcing former Tall Black Miles Pearce as head coach. Little bit suspicious that a fella from the broadcast team ended up getting this gig given how much of a commercial move this was, but Pearce has done some coaching in India before so he’s a very good option. The players they’ve announced are two young Indian guards and an American import. We’ll let them figure things out on their own, in the meantime here’s a quick breakdown on the other teams...
Auckland Tuatara
Head Coach: Cam Gliddon
Top Locals: Rob Loe, Tom Vodanovich, Dan Fotu
Top Young’un: Josh Wyllie
Franklin Bulls
Head Coach: Sebastian Gleim
Top Locals: Flynn Cameron, Ethan Rusbatch, Tobias Cameron
Top Young’un: Christian Vano
Tauranga Whai
Head Coach: Matt Lacey
Top Locals: Kruz Perrott-Hunt, Jayden Bezzznt, Te Tuhi Lewis
Top Young’un: Carter Hopoi
Hawke’s Bay Hawks
Head Coach: Sam Gruggen
Top Locals: Campbell Scott, Kobe Kara, Jackson Ball
Top Young’un: Jackson Ball
Taranaki Airs
Head Coach: Sam McKinnon
Top Locals: Carlin Davison, Dom Kelman-Poto, Jack Andrew
Top Young’un: Riley Tuuta
Manawatu Jets
Head Coach: Tony Webster
Top Locals: Corey Webster, Dontae Russo-Nance, Dion Collins
Top Young’un: Tautoko Wynyard
Wellington Saints
Head Coach: Aaron Young
Top Locals: Shea Ili, Izayah Le’Afa, Hyrum Harris
Top Young’un: Troy Plumtree
Nelson Giants
Head Coach: Mike Fitchett
Top Locals: Callum McRae, Alex McNaught, Liam Judd
Top Young’un: Hayden Jones
Canterbury Rams
Head Coach: Quinn Clinton
Top Locals: Taylor Britt, Tohi Smith-Milner, Max Darling
Top Young’un: Tama Isaac
Otago Nuggets
Head Coach: Mike Kelly
Top Locals: Jono Janssen, Josh Aitcheson, Darcy Knox
Top Young’un: Danyon Ashcroft
Southland Sharks
Head Coach: Jonathan Yim
Top Locals: Sam Timmins, Alonzo Burton, Johnny Helu
Top Young’un: Tu Kaha Cooper
All you blessed subscribers can also have a peek after the paywall to see how last year’s legendary U17 World Cup crew have been spread out across the teams.
Meanwhile in the Aussie NBL, there was an outrageous decisive game three between Melbourne United and Perth Wildcats full of insane shot-making. Perth scored 37 points in the first quarter but Melbourne ground them down to take the lead into the fourth. There they went back and forth with United seemingly edging ahead until the Wildcats made a couple of late flurries. Jesse Wagstaff hit a three to tie it with seconds left. Then it ended on a Melbourne free throw. 113-112 to United.
Both teams shot 50% or better from the field. Melbourne made 20/37 threes (54%), incredible in an elimination game, while Perth were still pretty decent at 12/31 (39%) as well as being almost perfect at the free throw line (which Melbourne were not and it nearly cost them). It was a fantastic game of basketball although having Ian Clark score 38 points off the bench for MU did mean that Shea Ili only needed to play 24 mins. He was out there as Melbourne started poorly so his plus/minus never recovered but he did provide a few crunch-time highlights with his swarming defence. Rob Loe got 25 mins and helped lead the first half comeback. Just a couple mins for Flynn Cameron off the bench. On the other side, Tai Webster had five assists in 16 mins... but Hyrum Harris and Dontae Russo-Nance were both DNP’d. Harris only got 39 seconds all series. Not a fan of how that turned out but at least those two will be good to go for the NZ NBL next week.
In the other semi-final decider, Illawarra Hawks destroyed South East Melbourne 126-96 to advance to the best-of-five Grand Final. The Hawks have zero kiwis so that clears up any conflicts against Melbourne United. As for SEM, at least losing by thirty – they were down by 15 after one quarter, by 26 after two quarters, then by 39 after three quarters – meant that there was oodles of garbage time for Tom Vodanovich to get some minutes following two DNPs.
Tommy V logged ten mins with three points, one assist, and one rebound in game three. Nothing special but he was out there throughout that fourth quarter. Alas, this does end his streak of finals appearances. He made it with the Sydney Kings and won the championship then he made it with the Breakers and lost to the Kings, then he made it with Tasmania JackJumpers and won the championship. He could have made it four in a row with four different teams at SEM but it wasn’t to be.
Rachin Ravindra has scored five ODI centuries and they’ve all come in ICC tournaments. Three at the 2023 World Cup, two at the 2025 Champions Trophy. One was held in India and the other (mostly) in Pakistan so there might be something to that and Rach’s ability in the subcontinent. It might also be something that folks might want to wave a stick at him about since he hasn’t had the same impact outside of these two tourneys. But you know what? The hundies may lack geographic variety but they’re licorice all sorts in every other way...
Ravindra’s five ODI hundreds have come against five different countries (Australia, Bangladesh, England, Pakistan, South Africa)
Ravindra’s scored hundies under three different captains (Latham, Santner, Williamson)
Four of his centuries have come after winning the toss, one has come after losing it
He’s scored two hundies batting first and three hundies batting second
He’s got ODI hundreds as an opener, batting three, and batting four – three different positions in the order
Ravindra has two tons in day matches and three tons in day/night matches
Three of his hundreds came in wins, two came in losses
Across both ICC tourneys, he has 853 runs from 15 innings with an average of 65.61 and strike-rate of 104.92 ... with five hundreds and two fifties
Good news everybody, the Regional League football draws are now out. If you click here you can read a very confusing, almost overwhelming, PDF of all the men’s games. Not sure why they don’t incorporate the Women’s NRFL Premier Division into the Northern League banner and include that since it’s got all the same National League qualification stuff on the line but whatevs. The Northern League Men begins on 22 March but Auckland City will sneak in two fixtures in the week before to clear space for their Club World Cup sojourn. The Central and Southern Leagues start on 29 March. The Women’s NRFL Premiership is also a 21-22 March situation.
Regular readers will remember that all through last year I did quickfire roundups of the domestic footy results in these newsletters. Obviously it’s not possible to watch all the games but I could at least update the scores and scorers plus some selections and transfers and whatever other news/patterns there were. Those got to be kinda hefty though so I’m thinking this year I’ll put them on the website as Monday round-up articles instead. Nothing too fancy, just the stuff you need to know.
Musical Jam...