Devastating domestic batting has put Devon Conway on the cusp of selection for the Black Caps.
OPINION
It was a disappointed exhale the day the upcoming summer's Black Caps schedule came out.
Not due to the opposition; we had India, Australia and England last summer so it's hard to get disappointed, not at the venues (I'm clearly not from Nelson), but at the formats.
Four tests,three one day internationals and 14 Twenty20s.
I, like most cricket tragics, find the shortest format of the game the least enjoyable. It's like receiving a Facebook 'like' – It feels good in the moment to get that dopamine hit, but a week later no one cares.
I've watched countless Twenty20s since that very first men's one between the Black Caps and Australia in 2005. And I can honestly remember just three of them.
The first is the aforementioned one which is memorable for Ricky Ponting's 98 not out and for the Black Caps bringing beige back as well as some outrageously good haircuts.
The second is Brendon McCullum's remarkable hundred against Australia at Lancaster Park where he showed the world the scoop shot in all its glory against the then fastest bowler in the world Shaun Tait.
Former West Indies bowler Ian Bishop came up with the line after Braithwaite smashed the West Indies to victory in the 2016 T20 World Cup final.
That's it.
That's the long list of moments that are memorable in the format.
Cricket's brilliance is in its tales, and good tales take time – or at least a whole day.
Brendon McCullum's 302, the Hobart test, Grant Elliott's shot, Fleming in South Africa ... the kind of events that prompts a tragic's own version of what happened, usually explaining where they were and who they hugged.
New Zealand Black Caps against India in February this year. Photo / Photosport
Don't get me wrong I know how we have arrived here. T20s are shorter, more appealing to the casual fan, get bigger crowds and therefore create better commercial opportunities. So it makes sense that there seems to be more and more of them.
There's a World Cup next year so the Black Caps want to prepare as best they can, which is understandable as they don't want to look bad – I get it.
But who really cares about the T20 World Cup other than those who make money from it?
The West Indies have won two of the last three of them (2012, 2016) and no one would call them a powerhouse of the sport through that period, no one would say it was one of the best West Indies teams to grace the planet – those are reserved for a bygone era where teams were scared of five days of peppering from the Caribbean's finest.
The T20 World Cup was born 2007- an era when commercialism had already taken over the sport. It feels cheap.
And the build-up argument struggles to gain traction with the public when New Zealand's two best players Trent Boult and Kane Williamson aren't playing in the first series against the West Indies this week as they are being rested for the following test series. Tim Southee will also miss the third game for the same reason – leaving a third-string captain in Mitchell Santner to lead the side.
Tom Latham, Kyle Jamieson and Jimmy Neesham of the Black Caps celebrate after winning an ODI. Photo / Photosport
But the tragedy of it all is we tragics can't help but feed the beast.
I'm heading along to Eden Park on Friday, I'll cheer when the ball flies into the stands and clap politely when the game is finally decided – I'll get my dopamine hit.
But in a year's time I probably won't remember much about the game and will likely never re-tell the tale of where I was when so and so did that amazing thing.
I know I'm not helping my own cause by heading along, but I also know I'll be scrolling Facebook for 10-40 minutes before bed tonight – dopamine is addictive we can't help but go back for more.
And for us tragics, that's the most tragic thing of all.
