Manipulating The Field
The Legend Melie Kerr, All Whites, Kiwi-NRL & Warriors, Flying Kiwis football, Auckland FC, Blackcaps/NZ-A & more
Scotty’s Word
A week ago I started my newsletter blurb with the sentence ‘Melie Kerr is the superstar of New Zealand cricket’. That was on March 26th after A-Kerr had scored 105 runs and taken 2 wickets in the fifth T20I vs South Africa. White Ferns won that game and the series 4-1 led by A-Kerr, then they lost the first ODI.
Since declaring A-Kerr as the one superstar of kiwi cricket, she emphatically doubled down on that with 179* in a monster run chase. Not only did A-Kerr pile up runs after entering the arena in the fifth over, she scored those runs with a strike-rate of 128.7. There was lots of chat about South Africa’s boundary hitting throughout this contest as they whacked 346/6 @ 6.9rpo yet A-Kerr almost doubled the 12 fours hit by Anneke Bosch.
A-Kerr hit 23 fours and one six. Bosch and Izzy Gaze were the only other batters in this game to hit 10+ boundaries with Gaze hitting 11 fours. One of the many joys of watching A-Kerr play cricket is how she scores quickly without trying to whack the ball. The way A-Kerr manipulates fielders behind square, all the way from point to square leg, is something I haven’t seen often before from her or any other batter in the world.
Another joy is the leadership of A-Kerr. She is already one of the best leaders in Aotearoa sport - I have A-Kerr in the same leadership zone as James Fisher-Harris. Part of that is cricketing performance and how A-Kerr can inspire her team by scoring runs and taking wickets. This White Ferns group feels different under A-Kerr’s captaincy, observing how vibrant the group is and how others are eager to chip in with winning mahi.
As this was all unfolding, I pondered how one of my favourite things about NZ cricket is the Kerr sisters and one of my favourite things about the Kerr sisters is them playing at the Basin Reserve. You weren’t alone getting emotional watching A-Kerr score all around the Basin and those kinda feelings have been brewing throughout the Blaze dynasty in Super Smash.
There is something about the Kerr sisters at the Basin Reserve. It’s Aotearoa’s spiritual home for cricket and that’s amplified for the sisters from Wellington, who share an incredible connection to their community that is now evident at the highest level of their sport.
Jess is second for White Ferns ODI wickets since the start of 2025 (behind A-Kerr) and first for T20I wickets in this period. The Kerr sisters are the only ODI bowlers with 15+ wickets and Jess is the only White Fern with 12+ wickets in T20Is...
ODI: 19w @ 26.4avg/4.5rpo
T20I: 18w @ 17.7avg/6.5rpo
Melie Kerr bits and bobs...
Last 10 games
Scores: 15, 45, 80, 78, 32, 30, 31, 105, 36, 179*
Wickets: 4, 7, 5, 0, 2, 0, 1, 2, 2, 0
As ODI captain
Bat: 65.5avg/92sr
Ball: 12.8avg/4.3rpo
This summer
ODIs: 355 runs @ 88.7avg/98sr | 18w @ 10.5avg/4.4rpo
T20Is: 459 runs @ 76.5avg/165sr | 9w @ 17.4avg/5.8rpo
HBJ Shield: 138 runs @ 46avg/96sr | 4w @ 20.5avg/4.5rpo
Super Smash: 206 runs @ 103avg/137sr | 4w @ 13.2avg/4.8rpo
ODI batting by year
2017: 14.2avg/83sr
2018: 93.5avg/133sr
2019: 12avg/53s
2020: 6avg/43sr
2021: 34.2avg/69sr
2022: 56.3avg/84sr
2023: 67.6avg/88sr
2024: 33avg/63sr
2025: 27.4avg/67sr
2026: 88.7avg/98sr
Highest White Ferns ODI batting averages for 500+ runs
Melie Kerr: 44.31
Debbie Hockley: 41.89
Suzie Bates: 38.47
Amy Satterthwaite: 38.33
Emily Drumm: 35.11
Most ODI wickets for White Ferns
Lea Tahuhu: 125
Melie Kerr: 124
Sophie Devine: 111
For paid subscribers
Suzie Bates form
White Ferns one-day seamers
Team of emerging players not named in Blackcaps/NZ-A squads
Blackcaps wicket-keeping depth
Seamers in Blackcaps/NZ-A squads
Spinners in Blackcaps/NZ-A squads
NZ Warriors dummy half depth
From Tonga to NZ Warriors
Cronulla Sharks spotlight
NZ Warriors dummy half running round up…
DHR per game in two Andys era
2023: 6.4 - 13th
2024: 7.8 - 11th
2025: 8.4 - 6th
2026: 9.8 - 3rd
Dummy half runs this season
vs Roosters: 10
vs Raiders: 11
vs Knights: 8
vs Tigers: 7
DHR metres for Wayde Egan and Sam Healey
vs Roosters: 68 | 7
vs Raiders: 22 | 76
vs Knights: 50 | 5
vs Tigers: 19 | 21
Tackle breaks | offloads by Wayde Egan/Samuel Healy
vs Roosters: 0 | 2
vs Raiders: 2 | 0
vs Knights: 2 | 0
vs Tigers: 0 | 1
You should know about 17-year-old Bishop Neal by now. He’s still being selected in NSW Cup and there’s a clear trend across his ascension at Mt Smart...
2025 U17s: 10 games, 8 tries
2026 U19s: 2 games, 2 tries
2026 U21s: 2 games, 2 tries
2026 NSW Cup: 2 games, 3 tries
Three Kiwi-NRL juniors nearing NRL debuts...
Antonio Verhoeven: Cobden-Kohinoor
Outside back from Greymouth. Another example of excellent Broncos recruitment from Aotearoa following on from Jordan Riki, Deine Mariner and Xavier Willison.
Salesi Ataata: Otahuhu
Middle forward who left Auckland to enter the Sharks system and then moved to Rabbitohs where he has been building NSW Cup experience. Coach Wayne Bennett clearly likes him and he leads a cluster of young forwards from Aotearoa in the Rabbitohs system...
U21s: Nazareth Taua (Glenora), Caelis Samuel (Mangere East), Saumaki Saumaki (Nelson College)
U19s: Phillip Lavakeiaho (Papatoetoe), George Kite (Papatoetoe)
Te Hurinui ‘Apa’ Twidle: Turangawaewae
Fullback/half who left Waikato to play junior footy in Queensland with Souths Logan and then moved to Eels. He dabbled in U21s last year but mainly played fullback in NSW Cup and started this year as their reserve grade fullback, scoring four tries last weekend. Twidle is stuck behind Isaiah Iongi and Joash Papali’i but Iongi’s out now, so Twidle is on the extended bench for Eels and his versatility could help him get a crack.
Musical jam...
Nick’s Notebook
Gotta say sorry here because I didn’t get a Flying Kiwis roundup in this week... I’ve published Football Ferns, Domestic Football, and All Whites stuff this week (as well as two newsletters and a podcast) and there just wasn’t enough time. It might have taken more priority if it had been a more action-packed week but with the lads on international break, the ladies happened to not do a whole lot of goal scoring or winning in their absence, so it goes. Anything noteworthy will still end up in next week’s edition.
This might be a good opportunity to reiterate that we do need people to support us on Patreon, Paid Substack, and/or Buy Me A Coffee so that we can keep up, so massive mana waves to those of you who already do and to anyone else who jumps aboard from here. (And all you Paid Subbers get to read a whole chunk of bonus All Whites stats and facts beyond the paywall).
Malia Steinmetz’s return from injury is leading the bulletin at this stage, though the weekend could change that. Already wrote about that last Thursday and in the Footy Ferns yarn so here’s a bit on Gabi Rennie and Milly Clegg making their Swedish top division debuts against each other a few days ago...
The Swedish top division has been a popular check-in spot for kiwi female footballers through the years, most famously Ali Riley’s hugely successful time with FC Rosengård – though the likes of Hannah Wilkinson, CJ Bott and Erin Nayler have also dropped by within the past decade. Nothing for the last few years... nothing until Gabi Rennie and Milly Clegg both appeared at once ahead of the 2026 campaign. Rennie earned promotion from the second tier with Eskilstuna United while Clegg recently transferred to Vittsjö and guess what? They made their debuts against each other in week one of the new season.
Gabi Rennie had a more prosperous afternoon. She was in the starting line-up while Milly Clegg was named on the bench, and they didn’t end up overlapping either because Rennie was subbed off (73’) before Clegg was subbed on (80’). Clegg’s a new arrival so there’s nothing in that, she’ll have to earn a starting berth but at least she made her debut in Sweden in the first game of the season rather than the last game of the season like she did with Racing Louisville in the American NWSL.
Great to see Rennie in the eleven, lining up in her familiar right midfield role. You never know what a club might do after promotion. Eskilstuna have been busy in the transfer market... but they’ve also kept a strong core of the players who got them to this point and Gabi Rennie’s work on the wing certainly fits in that category. One of her teammates, Ellen Schampi (who was there on loan last year and has stuck around on a permanent basis since promotion), picked Rennie as the team’s most likely breakthrough player in an interview before the first match.
As to that first match, Rennie was immediately into the action as Eskilstuna went on the attack and took a 14th minute lead through Heida Vidarsdottir, capitalising amidst a flurry of corner kicks. Vittsjö tied things up on 27’ but Eskilstuna ramped things up in the second half and seemed more likely to find a winner. Clegg wasn’t able to change that. Her team nearly held on... but ultimately conceded in the 90+4th minute when Rylie Combs headed home from a corner. Might have to work on their set piece defending at training. 2-1 to Eskilstuna United, giving them a joyous late win in their first game back in the Damallsvenskan. Many have picked them to go right back down so this was a big statement.
Ryan Thomas League Games/Minutes Per Season…
2013-14 (PEC Zwolle) – 19 games / 1397 minutes
2014-15 (PEC Zwolle) – 30 games / 2056 minutes
2015-16 (PEC Zwolle) – 12 games / 865 minutes
2016-17 (PEC Zwolle) – 31 games / 2220 minutes
2017-18 (PEC Zwolle) – 31 games / 2711 minutes
2018-19 (PSV Eindhoven) – 0 games / 0 minutes
2019-20 (PSV Eindhoven) – 11 games / 800 minutes
2020-21 (PSV Eindhoven) – 16 games / 902 minutes
2021-22 (PSV Eindhoven) – 6 games / 196 minutes
2022-23 (PEC Zwolle) – 18 games / 1089 minutes
2023-24 (PEC Zwolle) – 7 games / 340 minutes
2024-25 (PEC Zwolle) – 17 games / 846 minutes
2025-26 (PEC Zwolle) – 24 games / 1952 minutes (and counting)
You can pinpoint where he began having his knee issues. Season ending knee surgeries in 2018-19, 2021-22, and 2023-24. Various other issues scattered all around. But they raised his kneecaps prior to this season (yes, you read that correctly) and the surgery worked wonders as you can see by his resurgent availability this season.
Note that the 2022-23 season, when he rejoined PEC Zwolle, was in the second division too so the only other time he’d topped 1000 mins in a league season since his first cruciate tear was at a lower level. He’s going to more than double that this season, plus he’s added internationals to his agenda again. That fact also helps explain why he’s been struggling a little bit lately with muscle tightness, having only played ninety minutes once in his last seven games for club and country.
Auckland FC Left-Back options with Francis De Vries sidelined for 4-6 weeks...
Callan Elliot – He’s done it before (for the NZ U20s back in the day) so swapping sides would not be completely foreign to him, plus with Hiroki Sakai expected to return it’d mean that Elliot gets to retain a starting spot. He deserves as much, having done a great job all season covering for Sakai’s injuries. It’d also keep him busy as he tries to lock down World Cup selection.
Jake Girdwood-Reich – His best position is centre-back which is where he’s played almost all of his minutes for AFC but he’s also an accomplished midfielder and I see no reason why those skills can’t translate to doing a job on the left for the next few weeks. Alternatively, Nando Pijnaker’s left-footedness might be preferred. Same diff. Sakai’s return frees up Elliot to try just like Nando’s return frees up him or JGR.
Adama Coulibaly – Usually they put him at CB for the reserves but to my eye his best performances have come as a left-back where his well-rounded abilities translate smoothly. It’s at fullback where he was used most often for national youth teams. Coulibaly’s on a scholarship deal and got a couple A-League apps last season so he’s as well primed as anyone from outside the main squad.
Matt D’Hotman-de Villiers – But this guy is more of a fullback specialist and has turned up on the bench for the ALM side a couple times already this season. Could be that they’ve already tapped him on the shoulder as the back-up in this position, who knows.
Nathan Lobo/Ronan Wynne – There isn’t an obvious answer in the Pro League squad because it’s not all that clear how that professional to professional move would work. Bailey Ferguson has done it but he’s an U20s player which fits within A-League rules. Presumably anyone older would have to transfer and there are registration windows getting in the way of those things. Assuming it’s allowable, Jonathan Robinson is the main LB for the OPL side except that he’s American and the A-League team has already used up its import spots. So look towards Nathan Lobo or the versatility of Ronan Wynne instead.
The other option is that they could simply not play a left-back at all, instead going to their back three to allow them to pick Hall/Pijnaker/JGR all together and stock the middle knowing that there’s likely to be a drop off on the left edge regardless. Usually that shape is a late game thing but they have started that way on occasion. In that case it’d potentially be Jesse Randall given the wing-back role. But personally, I want Randall as close to the goal as possible and the easiest solution is clearly just to pick Callan Elliot on the left.
A screenshot for posterity…
Flynn Cameron (Adelaide 36ers) in 2026 NBL Finals…
G1 (L): 28 MIN | 2 PTS (1/8 FG, 0/5 3PT) | 2 REB | 2 AST
G2 (W): 32 MIN | 17 PTS (5/13 FG, 4/7 3PT, 3/4 FT) | 5 REB | 1 AST
G3 (L): 29 MIN | 12 PTS (4/8 FG, 2/5 3PT, 2/2 FT) | 6 REB | 7 AST
G4 (W): 28 MIN | 11 PTS (3/6 FG, 2/5 3PT, 3/3 FT) | 3 REB | 1 AST
The decisive game five is on Sunday at 4.30pm NZT... it’s in Sydney and so far all four games have gone the way of the home team... and Sydney’s home wins have been by a combined 57 points while Adelaide’s home wins have been by a combined 3 points.
Musical Jam...
