Swings and Roundabouts
Wellington Phoenix & Auckland FC, Blackcaps tight five, South Island rugby league, Plunket Shield, National League football, and more
Scotty’s Word
The Blackcaps’ tight five Test batting unit is solid and settled at the end of the year. Coming into the season in Aotearoa I was curious about the form of Devon Conway and Will Young, I was even open to a duel between these two to suss out a few batting spots. Conway’s scored plenty of runs across all three formats and Young’s been battling for form so that is no longer a thing, leaving an excellent top-five to move forward with.
Tight Five
Tom Latham
Devon Conway
Kane Williamson
Rachin Ravindra
Daryl Mitchell
We know Blackcaps show plenty of faith to their players so I expect Young to stay in the Test mix. Henry Nicholls scored 150* in his last Test innings and is the best domestic player so far this season, plus he is one of eight Blackcaps who have scored 10+ Test centuries so I expect him to continue loitering around the Test mix as well.
Two mature players with Test experience keep the standard high for those wanting to crack the Test squad and the younger lads ensure that Young/Nicholls need to keep churning out runs. If Blackcaps need a Test opener then 22-year-old Curtis Heaphy is the best emerging option but he will probably start slowly with a few squad selections before getting his opportunity.
Below the opening slot are fabulous emerging players like Rhys Mariu, Bevon Jacobs and Tim Robinson. Muhammad Abbas hasn’t played domestic cricket this season and he is in the wider mix as well, plus he may be hunting a spot outside the top-five as a lefty seam all-rounder.
Best Emergers
Curtis Heaphy
Dale Phillips
Rhys Mariu
Bevon Jacobs
Tim Robinson
The beauty of this equation is having batters like Jeet Raval, Chad Bowes, Bharat Popli, Henry Cooper, Brad Schmulian, Joe Carter, Nick Kelly, Tom Bruce, Cole McConchie and Sean Solia who help keep the standards high as excellent domestic players. There are even a few more deep cut emerging players who are having nifty seasons like Jacob Cumming, Gareth Severin and Matthew Boyle.
Some of this will require a bit more time but Blackcaps have mature and emerging players ready to do a job right now, as well as potential for the future. Like most Blackcaps pipeline stuff they cover all various roles in the batting unit with someone like Heaphy scoring slower up top and then there’s a deep cut like 20-year-old lefty Lachlan Stackpole who leads Plunket Shield for the most sixes and 282 runs @ 106sr offering middle order punch.
This flows down to the NZ U19 squad named for the World Cup as well. Captain Tom Jones scored a century on Plunket Shield debut for Otago and Aryan Mann scored two fifties on his Plunket Shield debut for example. Others like Marco Alpe, Hugo Bogue and Jaskaran Sandhu all flashed their skills in the U19 Development Series a few weeks ago as well.
Blackcaps have plenty of depth in all roles, across all formats. The best thing about this Test series though is how the tight-five have settled to give us a super solid batting unit that won’t change too much throughout this World Test Championship cycle.
2025/26 Plunket Shield: Round Four Basics
2025/26 HBJ Shield: Round Three Basics
2025/26 Plunket Shield: Five Best Players From The First Stanza
Best domestic cricketers so far this summer...
Henry Nicholls - Canterbury
Ford Trophy: 306 runs @ 76.5avg/95sr - 1st
Plunket Shield: 467 runs @ 116.7avg/72sr - 3rd
Josh Clarkson - Central Districts
Ford Trophy: 16w @ 11.3avg/3.8rpo - 1st
Plunket Shield: 13w @ 25avg/3.6rpo - 7th
Brad Schmulian - Central Districts
Ford Trophy: 225 runs @ 56.2avg/74sr - 5th
Plunket Shield: 476 runs @ 68avg/67sr - 2nd
Simon Keene - Auckland
Ford Trophy: 63 runs @ 15.7avg/82sr | 9w @ 26.1avg/5.5rpo - 4th
Plunket Shield: 279 runs @ 46.5avg/81sr | 14w @ 24.5av/3.1rpo - 4th
Curtis Heaphy - Central Districts
Ford Trophy: 93 runs @ 93avg/58sr
Plunket Shield: 419 runs @ 69.8avg/45sr
Best players in North vs South T20 series…
Batting
Polly Inglis: 103 runs @ 34.3avg/181sr
Prue Catton: 103 runs @ 51.5avg/112sr
Izzy Sharp: 91 runs @ 30.3avg/157sr
Bowling
Jess Watkin: 7w @ 14.2avg/9rpo
Nensi Patel: 5w @ 10.6avg/7.5rpo
Bree Illing: 4w @ 8.5avg/4.2rpo
Easy indicators of South Island rugby league talent...
Jordan Riki (Hornby): 113 NRL games, NRL champion & NZ Kiwis at 25yrs
Griffin Neame (Suburbs Greymouth): 89 NRL games and NZ Kiwis at age of 24yrs
Tanner Stowers-Smith (Halswell): 47 NSW Cup games while 21yrs or younger
Jason Salalilo (Papanui): 22 NSW Cup games while eligible for U21s
Makaia Tafua (Linwood): 33 NSW Cup games while eligible for U21s
K-Ci Newton-Whare (Riccarton): U21 Jersey Flegg Cup champion - starting prop in final
Jackson Stewart (Hornby): U17 Harold Matthews Cup champion in 2024, U19 SG Ball champion in 2025 and played 11 games of U21s JF
Antonio Verhoeven (Cobden Kohinoor): U19 Mal Meninga Cup champion, Australian Schoolboys & two NRLQ U20 games in first year in Australia
Torino Jackson (Zingari Richmond RU): Queensland U18 rep in second year in Australia, played U19 and U20s this year
Bishop Neal (Hornby): U17 HMC champion, Grand Final MVP and NRL train/trial contract in same year
Lennox Tuiloma (Linwood): 2024 U17 HMC champion and GF MVP
Musical jam…
Nick’s Notebook
How good’s a three for three A-League weekend? Friday night saw Auckland FC win 2-0 against Western Sydney. On Saturday, the Wellington Phoenix Women went ballistic with a record 7-0 victory against Sydney FC. Then the Wellington Phoenix blokes turned up on Sunday with a 3-1 triumph over Central Coast Mariners. That puts AFC top at Christmas, while both Phoenix teams are now only one point out of the top six (and in the ALW side’s case, now have goal difference in their favour).
Ladies first because that was the craziest result. The WahiNix had just slogged their way through two away games where they failed to score in 1-0 defeats despite numerous chances, including hitting the woodwork in both. They hit the woodwork three times against Sydney FC too... however the first of those, in just the third minute from Pia Vlok, rebounded to Manaia Elliott for an easy tap-in which sent the Nix on their merry way and they scored regular goals from there: 3’, 13’, 36’, 54’, 69’, 80’, 90’.
It was the Phoenix’s biggest ever win, topping the 5-0 victory against Canberra in the 2023-24 season.
It was Sydney FC’s biggest ever loss.
Samba scored twice, Grace Jale scored twice, Elliott got that early one, and there were two late own goals. For what it’s worth, I’m not at all convinced the last goal crossed the line... not that it really matters.
Funny thing is, they were 3-0 up at half-time and still underperforming against their xG. The own goals solved that drama in the end (7 goals from 4.25 xG), although it goes to show that even when they were thoroughly dominating the finishing was still erratic. Even Sabitra Bhandari seems to be much more of a volume shooter than a clinical converter (she scored twice here but also hit the post with a close-range header and missed a 1v1). But that’s fine as long as you can get her that volume of chances... and one of the key rules of Finishing School is that the closer you are to goal, the more likely you are to score. That’s almost entirely what xG measures anyway. Take a look at where the WahiNix scored their goals from in this match...
That’s how you do it. Couple other quick things...
Grace Jale is a born midfielder. She’s been awesome there this season and was pretty good late last season when that experiement first began. It’s not new – she and Malia Steinmetz were the starting midfielders at the U20 World Cup back in the day – but it’s not something she’s done much as a professional. Well, that was a failure of past coaching because this is clearly where she belongs. She looks really engaged being able to go after the ball rather than waiting for it to come to her. It’s a position that nicely utilises her strength and also gives her room to bring that crossfield switch and the long shot into the mix. The two goals she on the weekend here matched her entire haul from 1671 minutes last season. Whereas CJ Bott is doing an adequate job in a position that’s not her best, but which might be best for the team (at least for now), Jale looks like a natural.
Both of Jale’s goals were scored from corner kick situations. Marisa van der Meer scored on the end of a corner kick in the game one draw vs Canberra (a result that looks much better with how well Canberra have tracked since – the Nix have also beaten league leaders Melbourne Victory). There’s good size in this squad, lots of targets to aim for. This has been a strength of the team in the past so it makes sense to see it getting revived.
The spluttering and then exploding attack has been the focus but spare a thought for what’s been an excellent defence the whole way through. Ellie Walker, Mackenzie Barry, and MVDM have started all six games together and have only conceded four times. The league stats are a mess because of bye weeks and Melbourne City’s Asian Champions League outings (Deven Jackson’s scored a couple goals during those ones, by the way), meaning that some teams have played eight games whereas City have only played four. But 0.67 goals conceded per ninety minutes is the best mark in the competition and only the two teams at the top of the ladder, Melbourne Victory and Canberra Utd (both of whom have kiwi centre-backs: Claudia Bunge for MV & Liz Anton for CU... Zoe McMeeken’s also at MV playing fullback but is currently injured), have allowed less xG per ninety than the Nix. The Phoenix have not conceded more than once in any game and one of the goals they did concede was a penalty.
We also finally got that Grace Bartlett debut when she was subbed on for quarter of an hour in her fourth consecutive matchday squad selection – making her the second academy debutant of the season after Lily Brazendale’s bow a few weeks ago. Bartlett has been a regular in NZ age grade sides. She’s a right-sided wing-back or attacking midfielder (we saw her as RWB in this instance) who makes speedy overlapping runs and combines sweetly with her short passing stuff. Add in the National League additions of Pia Vlok and Zoe Benson along with the existing presence of Daisy Brazendale and that’s five kiwi teenagers who’ve gotten minutes for the Nix already this season with the likes of Ela Jerez and Brooke Neary waiting in the wings.
Not a whole lot to say about Auckland FC who simply did what they usually do and ground out a clean sheet victory over in Australia. Sydney FC’s loss to Newcastle Jets means that AFC have jumped them into top spot ahead of those two sides meeting on Saturday – Steve Corica’s old club vs his current club. The decisive moment against WSW came ten mins into the second half when a Sam Cosgrove shot struck a prostrate Jesse Randall and deflected into the net via his heel. There’s been debate about who that goal belongs to but right now the A-League website reads: “Randall (57’)”, meaning that JR somehow managed to score a goal from this position...
Based on the replay, and the angle of the deflection combined with how that ball only just snuck inside the post, I think that’s probably the right call too. Not sure it would have gone in without Randall’s unknowing touch. Either way, that makes up for the one that Cosgrove stole from Randall in the first derby, knocking it in from on the line. They’re even now.
That goal was the product of the two fellas who’ve provided the most attacking output this season, Cosgrove and Randall, but it was created by some combo work between Guillermo May and Felipe Gallegos... both of whom had only just been subbed on minutes earlier. Steve Corica’s next subs were way more defensive with Nando Pijnaker and Hiroki Sakai subbed on with a back three in operation but that allowed them to sit deeper, without any risk, and then rush out on the break which led to Lachlan Brook scoring his third of the season to clinch the outcome. Typical AFC things. Steve Corica’s in-game decisions continue to provide positive effects.
Lachlan Brook has been unreal these last three weeks since he was moved to a central playmaking role. He was pretty anonymous before but now he’s unstoppable...
Lachlan Brook in his first six games:
1 goal & 0 assists in 466 mins | 0.63 xG
Lachlan Brook in his last three games:
2 goals & 1 assist in 257 mins | 1.32 xG
That’s twice as many expected goals in half as many games. Twice as many actual goals too, now you mention it.
There’s also a bunch of Wellington Phoenix Men stuff behind the paywall for you lovely subscribers who allow us to do what we do (last minute Xmas gift idea: get someone you love a Paid Substack subscription to The Niche Cache’s newsletter!). That includes stats for one attacking player and one defensive player who most influence the team in those areas.
Teammates Scoring Centuries In Both Innings Of The Same Test Match
Greg Chappell & Ian Chappell – Australia vs NZ in 1974
Misbah-ul-Haq & Azhar Ali – Pakistan vs AUS in 2014
Dhananhaya de Silva & Kamindu Mendis – Sri Lanka vs BAN in 2024
Devon Conway & Tom Latham – New Zealand vs WI in 2025
This was the first time that both openers have done this in the entire history of first class cricket. The closest it ever came to happening before was in a Plunket Shield game way back in the day in January 1949 when Auckland faced Canterbury and the legendary Bert Sutcliffe scored 141 and 135 but his opening partner Don Taylor (who himself played three Tests for NZ) was dismissed for 99 in the first innings before adding 143 in the second. Here’s the scorecard.
Most Aggregate Runs In A Test For An Opening Partnership
Conway/Latham – 515 runs – NZ vs WI in 2025
McKenzie/Smith – 415 runs – SA vs BAN in 2008
Mankad/Roy – 413 runs – IND vs NZ in 1956
Dravid/Sehwag – 401 runs – IND vs PAK in 2006
Burns/Warner – 398 runs – AUS vs NZ in 2025
Blackcaps With Hundreds In Both Innings Of A Test
Glenn Turner (101 & 110no) vs Australia in 1974
Geoff Howarth (122 & 102) vs England in 1978
Andrew Jones (122 & 100no) vs Sri Lanka in 1991
Peter Fulton (136 & 110) vs England in 2013
Kane Williamson (118 & 109) vs South Africa in 2024
Devon Conway (227 & 100) vs West Indies in 2025
Tom Latham (137 & 101) vs West Indies in 2025
Musical Jam...
