Sixes, as this Shai Hope hit for the Windies shows, will wow crowds but New Zealand wicketkeeper Tom Blundell's glovework should trump any knocks. Photo / Photosport
You've just got to love the tickled-pink look people tend to sport after pulling out England, Australia, India or — if you're dripping with patriotic syrup — the Black Caps from the hat of an office sweepstakes with the advent of the ICC Cricket World Cup this week.
Frankly it's the best way to be, having someone pick out tournament favourites for you.
Nothing encapsulates merriment more than people — even if they know nothing about cricket — who project the demeanour of mildly inebriated race-goers recklessly placing bets on horses based on the tribal colours of a jockey's silks or the quirky name of a mount.
It's harmless, sporadic fun for a shade more than two months at the price of a famous takeaway sandwich for those adrenalin junkies and, elatedly, free of calories.
Dare I say it, many people, including myself, will be sound asleep for the best part of games at venues in England and Wales, until the final at the Lords, in London, on July 14.
Of course, there's a tepid interest if you've been paired with Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Sri Lanka this cup. Yes, they may cause a few upsets but will they make the playoffs for the fiscal warm fuzzies?
No but it's still worth the economy-class ride over the cup duration.
With all the crystal-ball gazing, you can't help but be drawn into the slippery slopes of a bookmaker's mind.
Who will win? Who will make the fastest century? Who will take the most wickets and make the most runs?
It's a minefield when your knowledge is limited to New Zealand captain Kane Williamson or Ross Taylor having any consistency with the bat or that Australia tend to reach for the sandpaper in their trousers when push comes to shove.
The reality is the World Cup will be a lottery, more so than in previous tournaments. Akin to the Rugby World Cup, even South Africa, West Indies and Pakistan can make pundits look like chumps.
Just as motorists who religiously practise defensive driving at roundabouts, I'm always wary of drivers who turn without indicating. Pakistan fall into that category of errant operators with Mickey Arthur plotting their path.
Staying with that analogy, succumbing to paralysis at the roundabout junctions will cause enough chaos to disrupt the flow of traffic so teams will have to move smartly or find ill-tempered fans blaring their horns.
The primary reason for that is the postage-stamp grounds at the tourney. You get no points for guessing that cup organisers are hoodwinking the ODI faithful.
Yes, the major ingredient for the lucky dip is that it's a Twenty20 tournament masquerading as an ODI one so fasten your seatbelts.
Having hybrid batsmen will help but just as buying more tickets in raffles boosts one's chances of winning it certainly doesn't guarantee it.
Finding the boundary at a healthy clip is imperative but trying to clear the rope in McCullumesque fashion any time you're gambling is a hit-and-miss mantra even though this tourney is predictably loaded against the bowlers. Williamson and Taylor remain the heart of the Kiwis' innings with Jimmy Neesham the safety net, unless Henry Nicholls or Tom Blundell displace Colin de Grandhomme.
Tournament curators will hold the card on how much growth of lush top will be left on the wickets at any given game. The hosts can effectively predict the outcome of other matches — Australia v India ... mmm, who would we prefer to play in the final?
A greenish tinge will favour a side with deadly seamers or, conversely, a lack of it or early deterioration of the pitch will elevate the spinners.
No doubt the balance of a team has never been so crucial and a timely reminder to Black Caps coach Gary Stead and his co-selectors the significance of exposing their tweakers.
Again it's a no-brainer that left-armer Trent Boult is the go-to man with the ball but Lockie Ferguson and Tim Southee types will be mindful the faster you go the bigger the mess, especially in claustrophobic confines.
Warm-up affairs can sometimes be more disruptive than helpful in the selection process but, for what it's worth, what the bustling West Indies showed the other night was who do you call when Boult becomes a target?
Southee, Ferguson and co have all the makings of road kill but that's where the spinners come in. De Grandhomme is godsend on Kiwi tracks to test visiting batsmen's patience but is that viable on a seaming one abroad?
It's encouraging that Blundell can score 106 runs from 86 balls but there's something more important in his portfolio that will define matches — wicket keeping. Tom Latham seems to be on the mend from a broken finger and Stead is leaning that way although Blundell could remain in the middle order as a batsman and Nicholls make way for Latham as opener.
Blundell didn't look that comfortable in the warm-up to Sodhi's leggies. One ball snuck between his legs and he missed a couple of nicks in the few overs I saw a shade after midnight.
Now juxtapose that with India veteran MS Dhoni's takes, never mind his ability to carve up tons in quick time. It was like watching a shearer clipping away without a smile of satisfaction.
Now don't get me wrong. I don't expect Blundell, or any other unseasoned wicky for that matter, to show Dhoni quality but did the Black Caps pick their glove-man as a wicketkeeper who can add value to the batting line-up or the other way around?
Tweakers will make the difference. History shows spinners Adil Rashid (England) 129 scalps, Rashid Khan (Afghanistan) 125, Imran Tahir (South Africa) 92 and Kuldeep Yadav (India) 87, are among the top wicket takers since the previous World C up in 2015. Boult (107) and South African paceman Kagiso Rabada (106) are the two who break that mould.
Tahir opened in the loss to England this morning and, refreshingly, took two scalps to show the Proteas are thinking outside the square. Are Stead and Williamson likely to gamble with Mitchell Santner and Sodhi in that manner on pitches where economy can dictate outcomes more than runs scored?
All the commotion is about Ben Stokes' one-handed catch, more importantly off Rashid's delivery, and, yes, they do win matches. However, all that deflects from the electric pace of Barbadian-born newcomer Jofra Archer's three wickets as an unknown quantity.
Given all the variables of how the games will unfold in the tournament, spinners will entice batsmen to lunge for lusty sixes in posting big totals or trying desperately to chase them down so wicketkeepers will have a field day.
No doubt, fielding will be critical and that's where New Zealand can set the standards even though Boult had a grinning moment against the Windies, much to Matt Henry's dismay.
Any outcries of how the No 7 to No 11 won't add value to the total is neither here nor there. That's why the pretty boys from No 1 to No 6 are there.
Like it or not, the worst possible ending to the tournament will be Straya lifting the trophy again.
I'm with Sir Ian Botham on how a team with sandpaper merchants can be forgiven and forgotten so quickly — it is simply baffling.
It just can't be a good look for cricket but, then again, if you have picked a name out of a hat I say take the money and run.
Napier City Rovers' hopes of making the National League final are in their own hands.