r/blackcapscricket

From the time I started playing cricket, Kane Williamson has been one of the most technically compact and magnificent batters I have seen. Balance, timing, and that trademark calm at the crease came together to make his batting one of the most consistently pleasing sights in world cricket. A thorough gentleman and a true role model for youngsters.

His retirement will probably be received with unexpected relief in more than a few bowling camps. Wishing him luck and success in his next chapter.

NZC have announced today that just 24 of the 64 Super Smash matches for the coming season will be broadcast.

This is a major departure from the last few seasons where all 64 have been broadcast across the Men’s and Women’s competitions.

The major reason behind this change is the loss of the TVNZ broadcast and loss of income through changes to NZC’s partnership with Dream11 due to changes to India’s gambling laws alongside a $7.3m deficit for the 2026 Financial Year.

NZC are currently in the process of ensuring that the 24 matches which will be broadcast will be free to air in NZ.

It will be a 12-12 split in terms of the women’s/men’s game broadcast as they will still be doing the double headers. So in essence will be just 12 match days broadcast with 24 games in total.

I’ve currently reached out to NZC to see if there will at least be some level of end on camera like there is for the HBJ, Ford Trophy, and Plunket Shield or if those 40 games won’t be broadcast in any form.

In my book, it's Jesse Ryder.

He was a fairly talented batsman with some good moments on field. He could have a better legacy had he maintained discipline. Blud had zero control over his sick drinking habits.

It's shameful that he destroyed his whole career for a peg. I think he badly regrets what he has done in past. He singlehandedly destroyed his all good fortunes. He seems to be the only Kiwi who cannot handle his drinking habit.

Scott Kuggeleijn comes pretty close but he is neither talented nor he has any recognition. Jesse Ryder had a decent talent and was popular among Indians.

What's according to you?

He's had 4 poor franchise tournaments in a row:

ILT20 2025-26: average 28, economy 8.00

IPL 2026: average 141, economy 12.81

MLC 2026: average 165, economy 11.00

The Hundred 2026: average 24.22, economy 9.08

This is in addition to a poor T20 World Cup. Outside that tournament, he's played 4 matches for NZ in the last 2 years. He is 35, which is not really an age at which fast bowlers usually tend to improve. He'll be 37 by the next T20 World Cup.

Personally I'd be looking elsewhere for the upcoming T20s against India, even if he's fit and available.

Bangladesh bowlers are running riot against Oz. This is like an early season NZ pitch but with much warmer conditions. Lots of sideways movement, allowing bowlers to float the ball up much more than you'd typically get away with on Oz pitches.

With NZ20 seeming imminent, what are the locations and stadia you hope that the franchise owners base the 6 teams in?

I think it would be good to get a pretty good geographical spread with one franchise per major association.

Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch are a given with just how large the populations are there.

I'd quite like a Queenstown team as opposed to a Dunedin team. Queenstown over December/January is a very popular tourist destination and is a high-growth area. Imagine it in the peak of summer. I think it could also attract a lot of one-off international tourists from Australia and the subcontinent.

The Hawke's Bay area is deceptively large, and the summer vibes at McLean are noteworthy with a nice large venue of seats; I think this also benefits in spreading the franchises across the North Island.

Hamilton and Tauranga both have large enough populations to justify teams, but I think I'd give the final franchise to Tauranga as it has a large summer tourism appeal and Bay Oval is a great ground that would look like a good product on TV for a global audience. Tauranga has a rich cricket culture and would embrace having a team of their own.

So Auckland - Eden Park
Wellington- Basin Reserve/ Hnry Stadium
Christchurch- Hagley Oval
Queenstown- John Davies Oval
Napier- McLean Park
Tauranga- Bay Oval

What are your thoughts? Where would you like the teams to be based?
Obviously it's contingent on where the franchise owners themselves want to be based but I thought it was an interesting discussion to be had.