The Showcase
Blackcaps & White Ferns squads, Tall Ferns in WCQT, Wellington Phoenix Women re-signings, Warriors & Kiwi-NRL, and more
Scotty’s Word
The double-banger T20I series with South Africa features two kiwi cricket teams in different zones. Blackcaps have refreshed their group after the T20 World Cup and I view it as a ‘showcase series’. Showcasing the men’s system and putting on a show for kiwi cricket fans. White Ferns are part of the showcase but they are on the T20WC path and have a tricky battle coming up as they prepare to defend their crown.
White Ferns will roll into an ODI series against South Africa after this epic week and a bit of T20Is. Many folks were complaining about Blackcaps playing in spring and now here we are playing double-headers in autumn. I like watching kiwi cricket so I reckon it’s all pretty fun and part of an amazing phase of fabulous sport to watch.
Katene Clarke is the funkiest selection for Blackcaps. Not only because he is the latest addition to the Blackcaps mixer but mainly because he is a T20 specialist. Clarke played his last Plunket Shield game in November 2023 and has slowly dipped out of Northern Districts’ Ford Trophy in the last three seasons.
Clarke has a FC century that he scored in 2022/23 along with two other 50+ scores. In five seasons, that was his only season with 150+ runs, 30+ average and a 50+ score. He had 46 runs @ 9.2avg in his final FC season, as well as 44 runs @ 7.3avg in Ford Trophy this summer. Clarke had a good start to his LA career (200+ runs and 25+ average in first three) before dropping below 20avg for his last three seasons.
That seems to have helped Clarke in T20s because his last two Super Smash seasons are his two best, with this summer the finest of his career. All of which is laid out in his last 10 scores...
Super Smash: 60*, 100*, 30, 38, 33
Ford Trophy: 2, 16, 26, 0, 0
Clarke’s T20 career mahi is 30.3avg/143.6sr. That’s good enough to play plenty of games for Aotearoa, adding to the aggressive opener depth. Most notably, Clarke is hyper focused on T20 cricket and that makes him a fascinating player to track right now. Aotearoa’s growth in depth means that we should embrace specialists and Clarke is a T20 specialist, at a time of flux for our T20 set up.
Most of the T20 flux stuff is goofy. I’m trying to chill on reactions and wait to see how it plays out. I love the Super Smash. I’m also of the belief that no player should be forced to play Super Smash when they have better opportunities around the world. I love the Super Smash so much that I want it to stay super duper kiwi and embrace it’s current standing in the T20 market.
NZC shouldn’t restrict players to this though, especially not T20 specialists. As long as a player is available to represent Aotearoa they can play BBL, SA20 or whatever instead of Super Smash. This is a goofy thing about any new T20 competition in New Zealand because it would still be at least the third best T20 competition happening in the southern hemisphere summer. You reckon a player will choose the NZ competition over BBL or SA20?
Clarke could become the next player in this kerfuffle. He is already a Super Smash legend and I’d love to see him dominate it again, but if he’s not playing the other formats then any NZC contract will solely be based on his T20 stuff. T20 stuff that would be good enough to follow Finn Allen’s path in securing a multi-year deal in BBL.
Allen has continued to show up for Aotearoa when T20Is are in focus and all T20 players can do the same, as long as they’re scoring runs. Clarke needs to score some T20I runs first of all and his promotion comes at a time when he has focused on T20s. That makes him the most interesting Blackcaps player to watch out for in this series. It also gave me confusing clarity about the contracting stuff; Clarke should not get a full NZC contract if he’s only playing T20Is and he should not be limited to Super Smash in that T20 window.
White Ferns are 12-4 in T20Is against South Africa but they are 2-2 since the start of 2023. No surprises who has been the best for Aotearoa vs South Africa since the start of 2023…
Batting
Melie Kerr: 187 runs @ 46.7avg/125sr
Suzie Bates: 100 runs @ 20avg/98sr
Sophie Devine: 93 runs @ 23.2avg/111sr
Bowling
Melie Kerr: 4w @ 25.7avg/6.4rpo
Lea Tahuhu: 4w @ 17avg/6.1rpo
Brett Randell this summer...
Plunket Shield: 9w @ 17.6avg/3.3rpo
Ford Trophy: 13w @ 20.8avg/5rpo
Super Smash: 9w @ 31.5avg/9.7rpo
Otago’s Thomas O’Connor has 16 wickets in his last three innings. The 21-year-old lefty took 7w @ 3.1rpo and 6w @ 2.1rpo in a win vs Auckland this week, shaking batters up with short stuff as well as balancing classical swing with those that go straight on.
O’Connor has his 16w @ 7.6avg/3.1rpo. He’s not one of the three lefties who have taken 20+ wickets in Plunket Shield...
Rohit Gulati: 27w @ 26avg/2.8rpo
Ray Toole: 22w @ 24.9avg/3.2rpo
Tim Pringle: 20w @ 29.3avg/2.6rpo
Toole took 5w in the second innings after Randell went boomfa in the first and is clearly in a groove with CD. Another lefty Muhammad Abbas also took 5w for Wellington - he is back as an all-rounder after not bowling in Super Smash.
Simon Keene in Plunket Shield...
Runs: 452 runs @ 50.2avg/76sr - 1st for Auckland
Wickets: 19w @ 28.2avg/3.4rpo - 2nd for Auckland
For paid subscribers
Blackcaps T20 stats
White Ferns T20 stats
Katene Clarke & Simon Keene extras
Cassius Tia’s now with NZ Warriors?
Regional kiwi flavour in U19 Tarsha Gale Cup
NZ Warriors vs Canberra Raiders in two Andys era…
2023 in Canberra: 36-14 win
2023 in Auckland: 21-20 win
2024 in Christchurch: 18-10 win
2024 in Canberra: 18-20 loss
2025 in Las Vegas: 8-30 loss
2025 in Auckland: 10-16 loss
Francis Manuleleua could be the third Kiwi-NRL debut of 2026 after being named on the bench for Knights. Manuleleua was a Papatoetoe junior who excelled in 1st 15 at Kings College in Auckland, while also flashing his talent in junior system for NZ Warriors. Once he finished school he moved to Panthers and then took up a better opportunity at Knights where he got consistent NSW Cup game time last year.
Manuleleua played alongside Ali Leiataua for Papatoetoe and Kings College. He impressed as a 14-year-old for the Future Warriors U16 team in 2019 and went on to make the NZ Schools rugby union team in 2021. He was a half for Future Warriors, midfielder in 1st 15 and has settled at edge forward with Knights.
Another funky player in the Knights system is Charley Lahmert. She is from New Plymouth and is a Bell Block junior, now the starting hooker for Knights Under 19s. Lahmert has scored a few tries this season and Knights have Kiwi Fern Tiana Davison, also from Taranaki, in their NRLW team.
K-Ci Newton-Whare (Riccarton) being named starting prop for Storm in NSW Cup was one of my funkiest things from the opening round of footy. He’s back in that role, having won the U21 Jersey Flegg Cup last year with Storm. Here’s what he did in round one: 52mins, 11 runs - 105m @ 9.5m/run, 4 tackle breaks, 1 offloads, 21 tackles @ 21%
Musical jam...
Nick’s Notebook
The Tall Ferns got up and running in World Cup qualifying this morning. They were utterly dismantled by Spain, losing 99-50, but that’s not the point. Spain are one of the best teams in the world, hence why they had four turnovers compared to NZ’s 25 turnovers (and scored 35 points off those turnovers, whereas we scored zero points in such scenarios). There were also big disparities in assists (26 vs 11) and points in the paint (44 vs 16). And in overall points, obviously. We leading 6-2 after the first five minutes of the game but once Spain got a roll-on they were unstoppable. The Ferns just couldn’t score against them, constantly getting closed out leading to all those turnovers.
Okay, fine. It is what it is. But this was only step one of a longer qualifying tournament – one of five games that the Tall Ferns will play in Puerto Rico where they’ll probably need to win two of them to make it to the World Cup.
The Tall Blacks always compete at World Cups but the Tall Ferns don’t. They made Olympic Games in 2000, 2004, and 2008 (helped immensely by Australia on all three occasions, with the Aussies leaving the Oceania spot open on two of those occasions by being hosts and world champs... while in 2004 they included two Oceania teams). In terms of World Cups, we’ve only made it once and that was way back in 1994 when, again, Australia qualified automatically as hosts. So those 2008 Olympic Games were the last instance of the Tall Ferns on the world stage... Suzie Bates was in that squad and has scored about 10,000 international runs since then for a different Ferns team – the White Ferns cricket team.
Following this Spanish defeat, the Tall Ferns will face Italy, Senegal, USA, and Puerto Rico (hosts). They need to finish in the top four of this six-team group to break the tournament drought but were ranked in the fifth seeding pot (with Senegal being the lower ranked team... albeit with only a couple of ranking places between them).
If USA by some miracle/disaster finish outside the four then they’ll still qualify by virtue of being the reigning champion of the Americas. In that case, only three other spots would be available... but that’s not going to happen. Not after they picked a squad that includes Kelsey Plum, Angel Reese, Caitlin Clark, and Paige Bueckers, among others. And even if it did, the Tall Ferns would still probably need to win two out of three games against Italy, Senegal, and Puerto Rico. Those are the ones they’re targeting.
Tall Ferns Remaining Draw
Friday at 10am vs Italy
Sunday at 7am vs Senegal
Monday at 7am vs USA
Wednesday at 1pm vs Puerto Rico
Tall Ferns Squad for WCQT
Tayla Dalton, Tegan Graham, Pahlyss Hokianga, Jade Kirisome, Rebecca Pizzey, Sarne Robati, Briarley Rogers, Emma Rogers, Emme Shearer, Ashlee Strawbridge, Ella Tofaeono, Charlotte Whittaker
The Wellington Phoenix Women return to action on Saturday (all three NZ games are on Saturday night) when they host the Brisbane Roar. They’ll be in the main stadium as part of a double-header with the blokes who play before them (in their last game in Wellington). It’s been a couple weeks since the WahiNix last played due to the international break. They’ve got six players returning from the Solomon Islands with the Football Ferns, including Pia Vlok who debuted over there. For everyone else, there’s been a couple of uninterrupted weeks of training following on from a pair of winless games (1-2 vs Central Coast, 1-1 vs Victory).
Those results saw them drop to four... albeit only five points behind leaders Melbourne City with a game in hand. There’s pressure on them from the chasing back trying to rise into the top six but this Phoenix team should be looking ahead not over their shoulders. No reason why they, with the best defensive record in the competition, shouldn’t be aiming for the minor premiership title. Here are their remaining fixtures...
Brisbane Roar at home (6th)
Sydney FC away (11th)
Central Coast away (7th)
Western Sydney at home (10th)
Adelaide away (3rd)
Three big bits of news in there. One and two are that Makala Woods and Brooke Nunn have agreed on contract extensions to bring them back next season. Woods has come in midway through and supplied four goals and five assists in only seven appearances. That’s probably not a rate that she can sustain but she’s got the work ethic and physicality that suits a Bev Priestman team so well and it’ll help to have her on board as Sabitra Bhandari recovers from her ACL injury.
You probably heard about how Samba delayed having surgery on that knee for about a month because she wanted it done at a specialist in Qatar where she’d had her previous ACL surgery done. So she crowdfunded the money, with the Nepalese faithful only too happy to oblige. Lots of people worried that this made the Phoenix look bad (it didn’t)... not enough people worried whether the Phoenix were being made unintentional victims by the holdout pushing back Samba’s potential return date well into next season. It takes 9-12 months to get back on the pitch after an ACL repair... if she doesn’t return ‘til mid-season then the Nix have been stitched up by this delay, with that month potentially represending four additional missed games. With Makala Woods on board, they have the possibility of either seeking a termination or at least having someone reliable in that position while Samba recuperates.
As for Brooke Nunn, she’s settled brilliantly into that RWB position (you may recall Alyssa Whinham being tried there in game one) and has emerged as one of the team’s best players with four goals and five assists (and three yellow cards). She’s the only non-defender to have started every game. Great signing and an equally great re-signing.
The third bit of news is that Macey Fraser has returned to training over this international break and could soon be back in contention for matches. Maybe even this weekend, dunno. She’d been on a wellbeing break after a difficult time in the USA where she got iced out of the Utah Royals by a new coach (who then seemed to imply it was her problem in the only instance he was asked about it). She got a release from the Royals to immediately rejoin the Nix, with no time to process or refresh in between. She trained for several week and even played a National League game before she took her break but eventually she did get that time.
This has been a trend in her career though. Fraser was sidelined at her U20 World Cup, not even getting on the pitch under coach Gemma Lewis (who also left her unsigned in the Wellington Phoenix Academy team around the same time). She got sidelined at the Utah Royals. Now she’s been voluntarily sidelined at the Wellington Phoenix – and its hard to know where Bev Priestman sits in all that. Fraser wasn’t really her transfer, she was a completely opportunistic arrival. And BP is pretty particular about her signings. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t really expecting her back this season... but if she can find a role within this team then that could be a huge boost as the Nix round the bend towards the finals.
Despite what people may think, Fraser absolutely has the ability to play the high-energy, combative style that Priestman likes – she was one of the most effective tacklers/pressers at the club when she was last around – but she still had to prove it to the coach. Having been able to step aside, see how the team took shape, and then return with an understanding of the team’s tactics will have been much more helpful than coming in blind a few months ago from out of the lowest point of her career.
Two spots in this line-up immediately spring to focus: Emma Pijnenburg’s playmaking role in midfield and Lucia Leon’s attacking midfield spot. Fraser won’t go straight into the eleven, she might not even start a game this season. But that’s where she fits in. Something along these lines would be sweet...
Esson; Walker, Barry, MVDM; Nunn, Jale, Pijnenburg, Elliott; Vlok, Fraser; Woods
Which would still leave room for a bench of: Danieli, Jaber, Leon, Anthony, Main. With Lara Wall replacing Jaber when she returns to fitness. Zoe Benson > Mackenzie Anthony for mine too... but probably not for Bev’s.
Wellington Phoenix ALW Squad For Next Season:
GK - N/A
DEF - Tiaba Jaber, Marisa van der Meer
MID – CJ Bott, Macey Fraser
FWD – Sabitra Bhandari (I), Brooke Nunn (I), Makala Woods (I), Emma Main, Pia Vlok (S)
Off Contract: Vic Esson, Tessel Middag (I), Lucia Leon (I), Grace Jale, Ellie Walker (I), Lara Wall, Mack Barry, Alyssa Whinham, Aimee Danieli, Ella McMillan (S), Ella McCann (S), Manaia Elliott, Olivia Ingham, Daisy Brazendale, Ela Jerez (S), Emma Pijnenburg, Mackenzie Anthony (I)
Three out of five import spots are already secured, although their best import player – Ellie Walker – is one of the free agents as things stand. Come to mention it, only one of the back three plus goalkeeper who are the foundation of the team’s success has so far been retained.
Also, all of the academy grads that were given chances by Paul Temple are about to see their contracts expire – Danieli, McCann (who has been injured with an ACL suffered at the U20 World Cup), McMillan, Jerez, Ingham, Brazendale... only Daisy Brazendale and Aimee Danieli are in the picture under Bev Priestman so we’ll see how that goes.
Musical Jam...
