This whole concept of playing regular Aotearoa 'A' cricket may be new for us, let alone two series in the space of a few months. There's one more four-dayer in the series vs India A and then we move into a one-day series, which means we've got another Aotearoa A squad to suss out.
Wellington Firebirds have booked their place in the Ford Trophy final vs Otago Volt, thanks mainly to Ollie Newton's 5 wickets and then Jimmy Neesham's big ol' century.
After fighting hard throughout the first Test, gritting their teeth and staying in the contest to grab a first up win, Aotearoa's Blackcaps did the opposite in the second Test vs Pakistan.
Today we have Auckland Aces taking on Wellington Firebirds in Auckland, with the winner booking a spot in the Ford Trophy final vs Otago Volts.
Only one of the three Ford Trophy games could be played on Saturday, which after Otago Volts defeated Auckland Aces, saw the Volts cap off a fairly dramatic rebuild in sealing a final spot.
How about that Test win by the Blackcaps on foreign soil? Pretty mean aye, led by that lefty spinner on Test debut Ajaz Patel ... wait on, where was Mitchell Santner? T
There is a bit of a weird situation in domestic cricket right now where the tier of seam bowlers below Blackcaps level, have been busy with Aoteartoa A duties and ain't been playing Ford Trophy cricket.
Test wins don't come around that often, given that Test cricket doesn't come around too often for the Blackcaps, let alone Test wins on foreign soil where a touring team needs to have a roster with the various skills to deal with funky conditions.
Coming into the fourth day of the first Test between Pakistan and New Zealand, Pakistan were 37/0 with a further 139 runs to win and all of their wickets in hand, so none of what was to follow would’ve been possible had Kane Williamson not opted for double spin to start the day.
Ford Trophy mayhem has eased up and we were a single run away from having a century in all three games yesterday, with Wellington Firebirds youngster Jakob Bhula letting the gang down.
Ford Trophy cricket has hit nek level hard and fast mode, with all six teams congregating in Canterbury - wonder what they're all going to do on their day off today?
Any time that Blackcaps Test cricket pops out of obscurity, kiwis rejoice and with the Blackcaps hours away from starting the first Test vs Pakistan in United Arab Emirates, we are preparing for our first glimpse of the Blackcaps in whites under new coach Gary Stead.
As Andrew Fletcher hit his third century of the Ford Trophy in Wellington Firebirds' win over Central Districts Stags, another Ford Trophy opener in Cantabrian Jack Boyle also went large and has low key stacked up a pile of runs to match Fletcher's dominance.
Two games into their World T20 campaign and Aotearoa's White Ferns slump continues after they were giving another touch up by Australia.
Perhaps the best change in kiwi cricket recently has been greater focus and intention around Aotearoa 'A' cricket, resulting in an abundance of A cricket for Aotearoa's second tier.
The comeback begins on December 15 in Christchurch against Alexander "The Great" Flores. 28 years old, of Mexican heritage but born in and based out of the United States, with a 17-1-1 record including 15 KOs.
Having recently scribbled about Otago Volts' young seam attack, Jacob Duffy took a 5-for and along with Nathan Smith and Matt Bacon they accounted for the 9 wickets taken by Otago bowlers in the win over Wellington Firebirds.
We have only just started the summer of cricket in Aotearoa and already, at various stages Jimmy Neesham has shown that he's on the right track via a change of scenery in moving up to Wellington. Meanwhile, this Dean Foxcroft lad goes alright.
While many kiwis with an interest in White Ferns cricket would have been optimistic about their World T20 chances, especially after doing what they always do in beating up weaker opposition and impressing in warm up games, a first up loss to India came with a severe dose of reality.
After being given a wee bit of a hiding in the T20I series against Pakistan, Aotearoa's Blackcaps are nicely poised heading into the third and final ODI with a win in the first game along with strong performances across the two games thus far.