Pre-Existing Notions

Blackcaps in India, Michael Woud for AFC, Super Smash cricket, Kiwis dominating A-League Women, Warriors squad building, and more

Jan 19, 2026

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Scotty’s Word

I went deep into Blackcaps ODI matters this morning.

Here is a Blackcaps team of players who have recently played ODIs, are dedicated to Aotearoa cricket, and weren’t in the ODI squad vs India...

Tom Latham, Rachin Ravindra, Rhys Mariu, Mark Chapman, Tom Blundell (wk), Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Jacob Duffy, Ben Sears, Blair Tickner, Will O’Rourke

Squad: Nathan Smith, Muhammad Abbas

Nick Kelly, Josh Clarkson and Michael Rae were in the ODI squad vs India and didn’t play. They wouldn’t make the team listed above though.

Now we move into T20 mode. Here’s how Blackcaps went in Super Smash as well as the other lads in their recent T20 jobs around the world...

Super Smash

Bevon Jacobs: 361 runs @ 90.2avg/165sr
Tim Robinson: 135 runs @ 19.2avg/141sr
Rachin Ravindra: 46 runs @ 15.3avg/131sr
Mark Chapman: 39 runs @ 19.5avg/126sr
Mitchell Santner: 21 runs @ 10.5avg/117sr | 1w @ 52avg/12.2rp
Ish Sodhi: 5w @ 51.5avg/9.3rpo
Jacob Duffy: 2w @ 34avg/9.7rpo

The circuit

Finn Allen: 381 runs @ 42.3avg/189sr
Tim Seifert: 285 runs @ 28.5avg/148sr
Adam Milne: 11w @ 16.2avg/7.6rpo
Jimmy Neesham: 30 runs @ 10avg/107sr | 3w @ 31.6avg/7.3rpo

Northern had two wins in Dunedin on Sunday. The blokes scored lots of runs again with Katene Clarke hitting a century and he is the only player ever to score two T20 centuries for Northern Districts. Clarke is also fifth for Northern T20 runs and he’s roughly 1,000 runs behind the leader Anton Devcich so Clarke could climb to the top with a few more good seasons.

Clarke has 30avg/142sr in T20 batting and could earn a T20 promotion for Blackcaps soon. Given how mature cricketers keep developing, Brett Hampton should be in the T20 mix as well.

Updated Northern batting mahi after their win vs Volts

Katene Clarke: 330 runs @ 82.5avg/175sr
Brett Hampton: 281 runs @ 46.8avg/176sr
Xavier Bell: 110 runs @ 55avg/151sr
Scott Kuggeleijn: 93 runs @ 46.5avg/221sr
Rob O’Donnell: 79 runs @ 39.5av/188sr

Matt Fisher is also tracking nicely in Super Smash with 8w @ 26avg/7.7rpo. He is second for Northern wickets and this is his best season of Super Smash bowling, which is notable because T20 bowling is his worst zone. Fisher was averaging 40+ in T20 bowling before Super Smash and is now on 37.1avg/9.1rpo, while also averaging below 27 in the other formats.

Big ups Te Awamutu because Kristian Clarke was the leading wicket-taker in the ODI series win vs India and the Gibson cousins played against each other in Super Smash. Southern’s Jake Gibson had 4ov @ 12.2rpo and 35* @ 194sr, while Northern’s Zak Gibson took 3w @ 8.7rpo.

Zak has 5w @ 12avg/8.5rpo in two games and this is aligned with his 26.5avg/8.3rpo in T20 bowling.

The Northern ladies were led by their two best batters who had been struggling for run flow prior to the win vs Southern...

Jess Watkin: 0, 17, 5, 28, 3, 60
Caitlin Gurrey: 26, 10, 0, 14, 19, 64*

Nothern wahine who have bowled 5+ overs

Marama Downes: 12w @ 10.8avg/5.3rpo
Lucy Boucher: 8w @ 15.8avg/6.3rpo
Nensi Patel: 7w @ 20.2avg/6.7rpo
Kayley Knight: 6w @ 22.1avg/6.2rpo
Jess Watkin: 6w @ 26.5avg/7.2rpo

2025/26 Super Smash: Five Funky Pockets For Men And Women

My White Ferns mixer...

Batters: Georgia Plimmer, Bella James, Maddy Green Brooke Halliday, Izzy Sharp, Emma McLeod
All-Rounders: Amelia Kerr (spin), Jess Kerr (seam), Hannah Rowe (seam), Flora Devonshire (spin)
Wicket-keepers: Izzy Gaze (wk), Polly Inglis (wk)
Bowlers: Lea Tahuhu, Molly Penfold, Rosemary Mair, Bree Illing, Emma Black, Xara Jetly

Fran Jonas and Eden Carson are out of action right now, opening up space for the best spinner in domestic cricket in Jetly. Black has been Otago’s best bowler this season and has been in White Ferns squads before so she deserves to be in the mix.

The White Ferns will always be better with Amelia Kerr in the team but depth has grown to the point where I’m not stressed by her absence, especially when playing teams around the White Ferns level or below.

Beyond the paywall are lots of Blackcaps stats, an emerging White Ferns squad as well as all the basic information you need for young NZ Warriors forwards.

Here’s a menu of NZ Warriors second tier players in their best position who all have NRL experience...

Fullback: Taine Tuaupiki
Wing: Alofiana Khan-Pereira
Centre: Ali Leiataua/Rocco Berry (depending on who you think is starting with Adam Pompey)
Half: Te Maire Martin, Tanah Boyd
Hooker: Samuel Healey
Middle: Tanner Stowers-Smith, Eddie Ieremia-Toeava
Edge: Jacob Laban

An Emerging New Zealand Warriors Team Ahead Of The 2026 Season

Here’s what my third ranked Aussie halves combo for NZ Warriors have done as youngsters…

Jack Thompson (Cessnock)

U17 Harold Matthews Cup champion in 2024 with NZW. Played 15 games of U21s in 2025 while eligible for U19s.

Jye Linnane (Kurri Kurri)

Played U21s for Knights as a 17-year-old and had an NRL development contract for Knights as a 19-year-old.

Musical jam...

Nick’s Notebook

Auckland FC lost on Friday night and Michael Woud made a mistake. They were beaten 2-1 away to Melbourne City, taking the lead after Jesse Randall played a sumptuous pass through for Lachlan Brook at the end of the first half only to concede an equaliser on 70’ via a very unlucky handball penalty against Francis de Vries (where he was unsighted and the ball hit his back arm) and then leak the winner with ten to go after Woud decided to retreat to his goal-line rather than attack a heavy touch from Aziz Behich. It was a poor bit of keeping, can’t deny it. But that’s a rare occurrence within an overall solid campaign from Mr Woud.

For whatever reason, a lot of fans appear to have pre-existing notions that Woud is a liability in goal. I see it in comments sections and I hear it in conversations. But Michael Woud has been Doing The Job. Not going above and beyond like Alex Paulsen did before him but certainly not dragging anything down either.

Michael Woud in the 2025-26 ALM

4 clean sheets from 13 matches (=4th in the A-League)
69.8% save percentage (7th)
1.0 goals conceded per ninety minutes (4th)
1.2 goals prevented (5th)

That last stat is based on the expected goals per shots on target compared to the actual amount of goals that he’s allowed. One concession per game is great stuff - he’s saving a lot more than he’s letting through. Woud has only conceded multiple goals on three occasions and those are the team’s three losses.

Now, Alex Paulsen did keep 13 cleanies in 28 games and there were a lot of narrow wins earned thanks to those obscene defensive number. That’s worth keeping in mind when considering how the overall defensive record hasn’t really changed at all – they’ve allowed 13 goals in 13 games this season after giving up 29 goals in 28 games last season (including playoffs) - because Paulsen had three separate instances where he shipped four in a game to skew the figures. Hence AP’s clean sheet rate was almost one every two games whereas Woud is around 1/3. That’s not telling you anything new to say that Paulsen was better. However, it is setting up the main point which is that it’s the attack that has had the bigger drop-off...

AFC in 2024-25:

1.9 goals scored per game | 1.0 goals conceded per game

AFC in 2025-26:

1.5 goals scored per game | 1.0 goals conceded per game

And even then, the “drop-off” hasn’t been very dramatic. Auckland FC are still top of the table, after all. Sydney FC could have jumped them but they lost... to the Wellington Phoenix. Bottom line is that Alex Paulsen was the best goalkeeper in the A-League. Michael Woud is an above-average goalkeeper who had a blunder on the weekend but has been an overall positive for this team. Shot-stopping is very good. He’s got a great frame for a goalkeeper. Good against the high ball. Huge boot kicking downfield (although not always accurate). Not to mention that he’s been playing behind a much more disjointed back four than what AP got to deal with, due to injuries to Nando Pijnaker and Hiroki Sakai along the way (and a brief suspension for Dan Hall).

The other factor here is that if Michael Woud is dropped then Oli Sail comes in and it’s going to be the same story with him: good in some ways, vulnerable in others. Not the same vulnerabilities, mind you – Sail is a better communicator but less reliable shot-stopper. But the same overall effect. But that’s beside the point because Woud has been good and there shouldn’t be any question of dropping him.

That was a wonderful win for the Wellington Phoenix, beating a title challenger away with a clean sheet. Second cleanie in three games for Eamonn McCarron (who was excellent, really brave and effective in his fourth start). Isaac Hughes scored again. Bill Tuiloma made his debut off the bench. Paolo Retre actually got to play in midfield when he came on. Manjrekar James was superb. The Nix are now three games unbeaten. Lots to like about that... but even more so from the women’s team whose 2-0 win away against Canberra United was just their second away victory of the season.

The best part about it was that, in a match so reminiscent of all those other away games where this team would usually concede an undeserved goal at the end to lose (as they did against Melbourne City and Perth earlier this season), they instead scored twice in the last five minutes plus stoppages with two of the youngest players in their squad responsible for the goals. Zoe Benson popped up near post with the first, converting with a delicate finish on the end of a heavily deflected Brooke Nunn cross. Then Pia Vlok scored from a remarkable finish at the very end, chipping a goalie who’d gone up for a corner, stayed up for the next attack, then ran the entire distance back only to get chipped on her line by Vlok’s angled shot.

Pia Vlok was the 2024 NZ National League grand final MVP
Zoe Benson was the 2025 NZ National League grand final MVP

Both were signed from outside the Wellington Phoenix Academy, both also have extensive youth international experience (Vlok captained the NZ U17s at the last World Cup) – with both of them in the frame to go to the U20 World Cup next year. Not exactly out of the box recruitments since they each already had two full years of domestic excellence when the Nix came along, though it shows the right kind of intent from the club to remember that being a development club doesn’t only have to come from within.

This was an incredible week for kiwis in the ALW because the Newcastle Jets also did this...

For the first time, Stephen Hoyle picked all four of his New Zealanders in the same eleven (there have been games where they’ve all played but at least one always came off the bench) and you know what they did? They won 3-1 away against league leaders Melbourne City and both Kelli Brown and Charlotte Lancaster scored. Anna Leat was only beaten from a penalty. Olivia Page made just her second A-League start, lining up at right-back. Hoyle coached a masterclass himself. Everything worked out perfectly. With Rebekah Stott and Deven Jackson also involved for MCY, that meant six New Zealanders took the pitch in an A-League game that didn’t involve a team from Aotearoa.

NZers with Multiple ALW Goals This Season

Charlotte Lancaster (NEW) – 3 goals from 0.2 xG (!)
Kelli Brown (NEW) – 3 goals from 2.7 xG
Pia Vlok (WEL) – 2 goals from 1.1 xG
Manaia Elliott (WEL) – 2 goals from 1.9 xG
Emma Main (WEL) – 2 goals from 2.3 xG
Grace Jale (WEL) – 2 goals from 2.3 xG

The Race to 3000 ODI Runs

World Record: Hashim Amla, 57 innings

Second place: Shai Hope, Fakhar Zama & Imam-ul-Haq, 67 innings

Daryl Mitchell – 2690 runs from 54 innings (58.47 avg)
Shubman Gill – 2953 runs from 61 innings (55.71 avg)

An update to another of Friday’s stats...

Highest Career ODI Batting Average (min. 1000 runs)

Milind Kumar (USA) – 67.73 avg (1016 runs, 22 matches)
Ryan ten Doeschate (NED) – 67.00 avg (1541 runs, 33 matches)
Virat Kohli (IND) – 58.71 avg (14797 runs, 311 matches)
Daryl Mitchell (NZ) – 58.47 avg (2690 runs, 59 matches)
Dawid Malan (ENG) – 55.76 avg (1450 runs, 30 matches)

Yeah old mate Shubman Gill not only went another game without hitting that 3k mark but he also dropped his average ever so slightly to fall out of the top five. For whatever that’s worth. Now here’s another one after the Dazzler scored his ninth ODI century in just 54 innings.