New Zealand, like the rest of the cricket world, owe West Indies. They were the first pancake.
Over a decade ago, the likes of Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo and Andre Russell and Sunil Narine recognised franchise competitions for what they were. A natural evolution of the sport. Their foresight, though, was met with resistance. They were labelled mercenaries because they chose money over the badge.
In 2025, Kane Williamson has played ten matches for his country and 32 for somebody else. New Zealand were more than happy to facilitate this arrangement. The establishment's door had swung shut on the West Indians when they first embarked on the path of maximising their earning potential. Now it remains open and accepting of compromise.
A whole empire had to fall to get here. It has been nine years since West Indies made it to the semi-finals of an ICC event. And one of the abiding memories of that last time is Daren Sammy standing on the podium as world champion and ripping his board to shreds. The first pancake is always ruined. The second one comes out perfect. Modern-day cricket. Who knew its inscrutable patterns had such similarity with breakfast food.
Most boards around the world are more flexible with their players now, accommodating their interests abroad while trying to ensure their national teams get the best out of them. New Zealand have done particularly well in this regard. They retained the first one who went franchise - Trent Boult - on a case-by-case basis, which allowed him a little bit of freedom and the team to maintain their level.
Over the last five years, the Black Caps have won a World Test Championship and made the finals of a T20 World Cup and a Champions Trophy.
Williamson, Devon Conway, Jimmy Neesham, Lockie Ferguson and more have opted out of traditional contracts but are still committed to the cause. Tellingly, these flexi-deals have seeped into the domestic structure. Tim Seifert holds one with Northern Districts and with New Zealand.
This obviously has its own complications. Sometimes your most important players arrive into international cricket a little cold. Friction can still develop. AB de Villiers attempted something like this during the last years of his career and was accused of picking and choosing when he would play for South Africa.
Colin Munro believed he might make a comeback at the 2024 T20 World Cup, which was held in the Caribbean, because of his experience playing in the CPL. He wasn't in the squad and retired a week after it was announced. But at a time when cricket boards are facing unprecedented competition for their most prized assets, some semblance of a system is better than complete anarchy.
West Indies have long since come to this conclusion, too. They will certainly have noted that their premier fast bowler, Jayden Seales, might have to be in two places at once because the Tests in New Zealand conflict with the ILT20, where he has been picked by Sharjah Warriors. They've already seen fit to split taking care of one of their key spinners with his SA20 team. Gudakesh Motie is missing this tour so he can work on fixing issues with his action ahead of playing for the Paarl Royals in December. He remains in contention for the next T20 World Cup, scheduled to be played in the subcontinent.
Preparation for that tournament will be at the forefront of both sides' thinking as they face each other across five T20Is, even if conditions in Auckland, Nelson and Dunedin do not quite mirror those of India and Sri Lanka. New Zealand were abysmal at the 2024 T20 World Cup. Their last two group games became dead rubbers because they were already out of the running.
West Indies were the ones that put the final nail in, and although they progressed one stage further, into the Super Eights, they were still knocked out before the knockouts. The two teams haven't met in any format since that tournament, and they come together now with the hope of doing a whole lot better.