New Zealand wrapped up the one-day series against England without Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Will O’Rourke, Ben Sears, Lockie Ferguson or Adam Milne on the team sheet. Somehow, the bowlers who did play still found a way to control an England batting order that never quite got going, and the Black Caps strolled to a 3–0 scoreline at home.
Since India beat them 4–1 in 2019, New Zealand have taken 25 wins from 29 ODIs on their own patch. The latest success arrived with a patched-up attack. Henry managed just the first game at Mount Maunganui before a calf niggle forced him off the park. The rest were injured before the series even started.
Mitchell Santner, standing in as skipper, admitted the coin toss in Wellington mattered. Harry Brook, his opposite number for the day, said much the same. Yet the bigger story felt like New Zealand’s ability to dip into the domestic pool, pick an XI, and still look organised.
Blair Tickner, back after a difficult spell with injuries and family bereavement, finished top of the wicket charts. Zak Foulkes, almost anonymous outside Canterbury until this week, nipped out key top-order wickets. Jacob Duffy, forever the reliable squad player, chipped in again. Only Nathan Smith, two wickets at 6.82 an over, finished with a few questions still hanging. Even so, he is in the T20I squad to face West Indies, alongside the now-fit Jamieson.
“The depth certainly has been tested,” head coach Rob Walter said. “I think at one stage we were six or seven of our seamers down, which is a great testament to the depth, to be honest. More importantly to the individuals that have stepped in, I think often we don’t see the work that the guys not playing are doing, trying to get ready and wait for the opportunity.”
Walter has spent months talking about pathways rather than panic. He pointed to Foulkes and Tickner as quiet examples of the system working.
“In this instance, Zak has been one of those guys. Ticks has been one of those guys, being in and being out for over two years and working away at his craft to hopefully get another opportunity, which he gets and then he just sort of rises to it and does it with a smile on his face.”
New Zealand treat domestic cricket almost like an apprenticeship. Walter went on:
“So we pride ourselves on our domestic competitions to be fair and the strength of them and the way that players can come from there and into the international circuit, whilst we understand it is obviously of a higher level that they can come in and the group pulls them in and allows them to just be themselves.”
He did, however, sound one note of caution.
“The depth is there. We’re certainly not resting on it because with international cricket, as we’ve seen, we’re getting tested with a lot of players in and out, injuries sneaking in here and there. So it’s certainly something we’re paying attention to.”
England will argue they were rusty. Jos Buttler was rested, Ben Stokes unavailable, and injury robbed them of Reece Topley and Jofra Archer. Even so, 187, 212 and 198 were sub-par totals on decent surfaces, each time undermined by new-ball movement and canny field settings rather than outright pace.
Looking ahead, Henry is taking a short break after playing every match since July’s tour of Zimbabwe. Ferguson (hamstring) and Milne (ankle) are still on the treatment table; Sears (hamstring), Finn Allen (foot) and Glenn Phillips (groin) are also out of the West Indies T20Is.
“Kyle’s been back bowling this week and is tracking nicely for this series,” Walter added. “Nathan’s made an impressive start to his international career in the Test and ODI formats and we back him to do the job if he gets his T20 chance in this series.”
The Black Caps rarely talk about statements, but a comfortable sweep with what amounted to a second-string attack does underline their current strength. England leave with more questions than answers, especially around batting depth, while New Zealand shuffle their resources again and move on to the next challenge.
