Bevon Jacobs in action for the Auckland Aces against Wellington. Photo / Photosport
With their depth tested by injuries in the series against the West Indies, the Black Caps have been forced to blood new caps and call on familiar faces to boost the bowling attack.
While the national side’s bowling depth seems strong, the last genuine batter to debut was Rachin Ravindra at Kanpur in 2021.
Since Ravindra, 11 new players have debuted.
There has been one wicketkeeper: Mitch Hay; four all-rounders: Michael Bracewell, Scott Kuggeleijn, Nathan Smith and Zak Foulkes; and six bowlers: Blair Tickner, Will O’Rourke, Ben Sears, Matt Fisher, Jacob Duffy and Michael Rae.
One batter putting his name in the frame is Auckland’s Bevon Jacobs.
Jacobs is no stranger to international cricket, he made his debut for the Black Caps in the shorter forms on the Zimbabwe tri-series in July, after a tour of South Africa with the national A side.
“Being part of the New Zealand A group, and getting a little bit of experience overseas with that group, was really fun for me, and to be able to do it in red ball cricket and white ball cricket was awesome, and that’s hopefully just a stepping stone into what the future holds.”
In seven innings of this summer’s Plunket Shield, Jacobs is fifth on the run scorer’s chart with 378 runs at an average of 54 and a Bazball-esque strike rate of 81.
“If I’m playing my best cricket, I’m always looking to score first - I’m trying to be proactive,” Jacobs said.
He is clear on his aspirations.
“Test cricket is obviously something that I want to achieve one day.
“Over the last few years, I’ve been trying to put that at the forefront of my mind, red ball cricket is still the pinnacle and playing red ball cricket for NZ is still very much a goal.
“Hopefully one day I can reach that level, three formats for NZ is definitely a major goal of mine.”
His first class career is in its infancy with nine matches but Jacobs, along with Canterbury’s Rhys Mariu and Wellington’s Tim Robinson, are the prospective leading lights for the next generation of Kiwi batters.
And Jacobs says honing his technique in first class cricket provides the sound base from which his white ball batting stems from.
“If you want to have a good base for white ball cricket, it comes from red ball cricket.
“I use that strong base and implement that into my white ball, because I think that’s what makes white ball more successful – you can use that strong base and then the only thing that you’re doing extra is hitting over the top.
“I can still use technique to try and clear the rope rather than trying to bludgeon it and I think a strong technical base is the best start and the best way to train that is through red ball cricket – I don’t want to get pigeon-holed into a role.”
The Black Cap dream burns bright, but Jacobs knows he cannot worry about matters outside his control.
“For me, it’s just about doing the best I can and keep going for Auckland, and hopefully selection down the road can look after itself.
“The end goal for any domestic player [is] to play for NZ and represent NZ. If that does happen at the end of the day, then, that’s something I’ll take in my stride when it happens – the main focus for me is there’s always Auckland first, and then if I get the privilege to play for New Zealand, then tackle that when it happens.”
The next 12 months for test cricket is headlined by a three-test tour of England and then four tests in Australia next summer, the first time NZ will play a series longer than three tests since 1999.
It is about not getting distracted by the task at hand – scoring runs for Auckland.
“The more I play the more I can learn – I’m going to keep trying to put my name in the hat so I can get into those conditions. And let’s see what the winter holds for the year following.
“It’s definitely something, you look at as a player, and you look to the future and, it’d be something pretty special to be a part of, and if I do manage to get into the side in the future ... then that’ll be a privilege.”