The Black Caps' extended Test squad named early on Wednesday to travel to England later this month featured plenty of household names, yet left a lot to be desired.
The 20-man squad features all the usual faces, as well as some genuine bolters, with the likes of Wellington skipper Michael Bracewell, Central Districts pace bowler Blair Tickner, Canterbury wicketkeeper Cam Fletcher and Otago duo Hamish Rutherford and Jacob Duffy all included.
READ MORE: Bracewell named in Black Caps Test squad for England tour
With the five Black Caps at the IPL unlikely to be available for the two warm-up matches at Hove (May 20th - 23rd) and at Chelmsford (May 26th - 29th), the initial squad of 20 will be reduced to 15 ahead of the three Tests against England, the first of which begins at Lord's on June 2nd.
The inclusion of the domestic stalwarts coming off horrific Plunket Shield seasons for what is likely to only be a couple of warm-up games prior to the Test series is puzzling, to say the least.
Take Bracewell for example.
Now that his cousin Doug seems to finally be cast aside for good, the 31-year-old Wellington all-rounder will represent the Bracewell clan this time around, in what has become an honoured tradition to include at least one Bracewell in the national side at all times.
The 31-year-old Test rookie was one of three uncapped players included in the squad to face England in June. (Source: 1News)
It has been a huge summer for Michael. A brilliant Super Smash campaign saw him rewarded with not only a spot in the national T20 side, but also the ODI team against the Netherlands.
While the lone T20 game was rained out, Bracewell enjoyed some success with his part-time off-spin in the ODI series, taking five wickets across the three games.
Yet he could only muster four runs with the bat from two innings, and his Plunket Shield numbers don't make for great reading for someone coach Gary Stead has begun describing as the answer to the Black Caps decade-long search for a spin-bowling all-rounder.
In 96 first-class games, Bracewell averages 33 with the bat and 47 with the ball. In the 2021/22 season those numbers were worse - just 19 with the bat and a whopping 57 with the ball.
But he gives the ball a decent rip, Stead said in a media conference on Wednesday.
READ MORE: Black Caps looking at Michael Bracewell as spinning allrounder
"We really, really like what we're seeing in terms of the shape of the ball he's bowling. He's a big, tall guy that gets bounce and really spins the ball hard, so for us it's looking at that all-rounder type role," Stead said.
"We've got in the future tours to Pakistan and we see him as an option for there, so we're really keen for Michael to keep getting those experiences."
While a valid option for Pakistan, how much can really be taken from a couple of decent games against a minnow like the Netherlands on what were pretty average international wickets at Hamilton's Seddon Park?
Bracewell has only bowled 390 overs in his entire first-class career and taken just 27 wickets. At 31, is he really the answer?
Similar questions can be asked about the inclusion of Tickner and Duffy.
The pace bowling duo have been in-and-around the Black Caps setup for a while now, particularly in the white-ball arena.
Duffy, who some may be amazed to believe is still only 27 given he debuted for Otago a decade ago, is coming off arguably the worst season of his career to date.
The Otago spearhead averaged over 50 with the ball in both the Plunket Shield and Super Smash, and his average of 35 and economy of over six in the Ford Trophy was not a lot better.
Tickner had a more successful season, averaging 28 with the ball in the Plunket Shield (helped by six wickets in Central Districts' final game of the season against an under-strength Auckland side) and took four wickets on ODI debut against the Netherlands in March.
But the 28-year-old has yet to make his Test debut and one feels his into-the-wicket type bowling is not suited to England conditions that tend to favour swing.
Tickner will also be 29 in October. He's in his prime now and isn't going to usurp any of the current pace attack of Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Neil Wagner, Kyle Jamieson and Matt Henry. By the time there's an opening, it's likely Tickner will be over the hill as well.
Given the aforementioned Bracewell, Tickner and Duffy are essentially covering for the IPL players in the warm-up games, why not throw a bone to some of the rising talent that are coming off impressive domestic campaigns?
Rachin Ravindra has been included in the touring party and rightly so. While his numbers at international and domestic level don't leap off the page just yet, the 22-year-old has shown glimpses of the immense talent he possesses. If anyone should be touted as the future spin-bowling all-rounder, it should be him.
He is not the only talent coming out of Wellington either. Domestic teammates Nathan Smith, Troy Johnson and Ben Sears had excellent Plunket Shield seasons and deserved consideration for a spot on the tour to England.
Smith, 23, enjoyed a stellar debut campaign for Wellington having moved north from Otago last year.
He finished the season with the equal-most wickets in the Plunket Shield (31) at an average of just 18.
Three half-centuries with the bat also show he is one of the country's brightest all-round prospects.
Not far behind him on the wickets tally was Sears, who took 18 in just four games at an average of 23.
The 24-year-old has been on the radar of the Black Caps for a while and has already made his T20I debut. Given he has been touted as a future international bowler with express pace, surely he would have benefited with some tour games on foreign turf?
Finally, Sears' fellow 24-year-old Johnson has only been on the domestic circuit for a couple of years, but the middle-order batsman has shown he is more than comfortable at that level.
He averages over 50 in the Plunket Shield and over 40 in the Ford Trophy, and is certainly one to keep an eye on going forward.
Plenty of others deserved consideration too. Robbie O'Donnell was superb with the bat for Auckland, Brett Randall shared the spoils with Smith for most wickets, and Will Williams finished yet another season as one of the country's best domestic bowlers.
While Rutherford and Fletcher deserved their spots after strong domestic campaigns, it would have been encouraging if the Black Caps had looked further afield than Bracewell, Duffy and Tickner and taken a few more long-term prospects with them, even if only to play some warm-up games and soak up the Test match atmosphere from the dressing room.
The Black Caps must take the opportunity they have right now to start nurturing the next generation of players alongside their stars to ensure New Zealand's golden era can continue beyond the current crop.
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