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Even Championship on the cards with top players away Lynn McConnell - 24 November 2001
Opportunities for lesser known players to make an impact on the New Zealand domestic cricket scene are never better than when the national side is touring Australia. The same applies this year for the State Series which gets underway with the four-day Championship on Monday. Fourteen players, as well as two or three more with injuries, are taken out of the scene and those places are available. Some will be strictly bit-part players until the internationals or injured players return, but others will make an impact and cement places for themselves for the new year. That is why favouritism in the Championship is so hard to predict. Wellington must go in with the early running but the whole season is really a lottery and the potential for the most fascinating season of cricket for some years is there. CricInfo prospects for the season are: AUCKLAND Auckland has made some bold moves in order to get its name on the Championship trophy for the first time. It hasn't been afraid to introduce young blood into the side, although there will be great disappointment that Richard Pudney will miss the first part of the season - a victim of the Eden Park nets where he had his finger broken in three or four places on Wednesday evening. With a club century behind him he was shaping well for the side, especially after having worked hard on his preparation during the winter. But new captain Brooke Walker has put that disappointment behind him as he contemplates a new role in the game. He believes he has inherited a good side with many members having played a lot of cricket together. One of the areas the side does need to improve is in its top order batting and the return of international batsman Matt Horne to Auckland will be one boost in that regard while the advance of Nick Horsley will be another as he looks to build on his winter at the Cricket Academy. Lengthening the batting order will be wicket-keeper Reece Young who played very well with the bat during the Academy's programme at the end of its year in Christchurch. Aaron Barnes and Tim McIntosh will be important also in providing top-order support while Rob Nicol will be another player watch. Backing them will be two all-rounders capable of causing mayhem in the right circumstances in Kyle Mills and Tama Canning. Mills already has a 150 on his scorecard for the season for Auckland against the NZ Academy. Auckland's real strength is its bowling attack however, and it will be the batsmen who need to ensure the bowlers have plenty of runs to play with. Chris Drum, Mills, Canning, and Andre Adams with the fast-medium duties, and Walker and Mark Haslam for the spinning duties, represent one of the better bowling units in the competition. As a leg-spinning captain Walker is aware of the danger of under, or over, bowling himself, and of the need to watch the work loads on other bowlers during the season. "I'm starting to feel a lot more confident about things and the knowledge is in the side to help me out," he said.
Prospects for winning Championship: 55% CANTERBURY Canterbury drew potentially the toughest start to the summer campaign with the opening game against last year's champions Wellington. Rangiora will be an interesting first venue, especially after the heavy rain of the last few days. But Canterbury captain Gary Stead is unfazed by whatever lies ahead. The side is positive in its approach and is quietly confident that it can improve on its last placing in the first-class series last year. A lot of effort has gone into pre-season fitness work, the preparation had been a lot more focused with players keeping daily diaries of their work over the last two and a half to three months. Players were well aware of their roles in the side and apart from the one newcomer in the side, batsman Shanan Stewart, all were familiar with the demands of the intensive programme. There is an experienced core to the batting based around Stead, Brad Doody, Jarrod Englefield and Chris Harris while Michael Papps, Aaron Redmond and Stewart offer a high talent factor if able to be harnessed correctly. Against that there is a competitive bowling attack headed by Warren Wisneski, Ryan Burson, Stephen Cunis and newcomer Wade Cornelius. Cornelius is just getting over a broken finger but should be fit for consideration on Monday. "He's been bowling really well with the Academy and it should be a big season for him," Stead said. Complementing the pace attack is a tidy looking slow-bowling unit in Harris, Paul Wiseman and Redmond. Add in a competitive wicket-keeper in Gareth Hopkins and it is little wonder that Stead is happy with the overall balance of the side.
Prospects for winning Championship: 45% CENTRAL DISTRICTS Ben Smith wasn't completely surprised to be offered the captaincy of the State Central Districts Stags. At home with Leicestershire during the winter when he heard that Craig Spearman and Mark Douglas had retired, and with the likelihood of Jacob Oram being recovered from injury and involved with New Zealand in Australia, he wondered if he might be in with a chance of captaining CD. He has been vice-captain of his old county Leicestershire and led the side in about 10 games. He is now playing for Worcestershire for the next three years. He's looking forward to what he described as a challenging job in the role. "But we're quietly confident," he said. In the initial part of the season he's expecting his seamers to do much of the bowling work, and that shouldn't be a problem given the relative wealth of resources CD enjoy in this area. The side was batting short but the use of off-spinner Campbell Furlong at No 6 in the order would partly compensate for that. "Everyone is looking forward to getting into it," he said. Of most interest to followers throughout the country, not just in the home districts of CD, will be the results achieved by Michael Mason, Lance Hamilton, Brent Hefford, Ewen Thompson and Andrew Schwass with their fast-medium bowling. Mason suffered a cruel broken foot last summer while Hamilton missed the whole year after a good year the season before. They represent a formidable armoury but their effectiveness will be dependent on batting success and that is the challenge that lies ahead for CD. Smith has a big role to play in attempting to repeat his run scoring feats of last season while David Kelly and Richard King, with his previous first-class experience, will be vital back-up to Smith while the talent of Jamie How could flourish with support around him.
Prospects for winning Championship: 50% NORTHERN DISTRICTS Fitness is crucial to any side's hopes of playing through two full rounds of four-day games and that has been hit home in ND's preparations for the season. The talented Parlane brothers, Michael and Neal, have been left out of the side having failed fitness tests. ND captain Robbie Hart said he has a strong core of players to call on and there has been a lot of attention to detail and fitness preparation under new coach Bruce Blair. "You have to be an athlete to get through the summer these days and high fitness standards are required," Hart said. But even more than fitness, the greatest strength ND will take into the summer will be its ability to fight. It is an experienced unit and no-one can afford to take it lightly. "Finishing has been our problem. We put in good performances for half or three-quarters of the season and then don't finish off. "We have 12 players who really absolutely believe we can win something this year," he said. The side looks to have all angles covered, although the lack of consistency in batting is the one area ND must improve. In this regard the Marshall brothers, Hamish and James, both need to start doing justice to their respective abilities and if they fire, then ND can expect some sizeable scores. It certainly has the attack to defend big totals. Joseph Yovich was the side's highest wicket-taker last year and is the crucial player working in tandem with Simon Doull with back-up from Graham Aldridge and Ian Butler, who is set to make his debut. "He has exciting pace and he might surprise a few guys," Hart said of Butler. Scott Styris is the developing medium-pacer in the country while the spin trio of Grant Bradburn, Matthew Hart and Bruce Martin is a useful first-class combination. With that sort of armoury in both batting and bowling, Rob Hart is going into the campaign with his own aspirations with the bat but also realising there is a lot to be gained from a good all-round performance on his part. 'Belief' might well sum up ND's requirements, in all aspects of its game.
Prospects for winning Championship: 55% OTAGO Lee Germon is looking forward to his return to the first-class scene having retired after the 1997/98 season. First up there's the small matter of getting onto the field at Carisbrook on Monday against Northern Districts as that will see him register his 100th first-class appearance. But more importantly he has the chance to get on with the job of leading an Otago side without a core of experience, but with talent galore. Germon, who played one-day cricket for Otago last summer, on a diet of club cricket in Oamaru, has prepared by playing club cricket in Dunedin and already he has a century, an 80 and a 50 not out in games so far. "I'm pretty excited about the season. We've got an Aussie leggie in the side and our build-up has been pretty good," he said. The three State Championship four-day games before the start of the one-day competition will be good preparation for the State Shield campaign. He felt he was under-prepared for the job last year but is more confident this time around. "With Hornet [Matt Horne] leaving to return to Auckland and Denis [Aberhart] coaching New Zealand I didn't want to opt out. "The reports we have had about Rob Smith are that he looks pretty likely. It gives us an exciting option and it is a good opportunity to captain a side with good leg spin bowling," he said. The pace attack is also in good hands with two former internationals in Kerry Walmsley and David Sewell. Backing them up will be the improving Craig Pryor who is shaping for a big season, Evan Marshall back after five years off the scene and up and comer Bradley Scott 11 wickets in four appearances last year including six for 38 in his best performance. That is not to forget the injured Warren McSkimming and James McMillan, who was shaping so well in the State Max tournament last week before suffering an ankle injury. The top-order batting will settle around Robbie Lawson, Craig Cumming, Chris Gaffaney, Andrew Hore and Brendon McCullum. This represents a strong batting order if the players can gain the required consistency. While McCullum had a poor introduction to the first-class scene last year his time at the New Zealand Academy should have set him up to make quite an impact this year. He is expected to open the batting for the side. Otago has the potential to nudge some of the other sides in the competition although its greatest chance will rest on developing consistency.
Prospects for winning Championship: 40% WELLINGTON New Wellington skipper Richard Jones isn't feeling any pressure taking over the reins of the defending champions in the absence of captain Matthew Bell. "No, there's no pressure at all. We've just got to go out and win it again this year," he said. There had been changes to the side from last year as well, with the departing Roger Twose, Stephen Mather and Jason Wells leaving big holes of experience in the side. "And Belly is in Australia, someone's got to score his five tons," he said reflecting on Bell's contribution to last year's success. "We are a new looking side but people are looking forward to getting out and playing." One of the problems the side will face when going out against Canterbury, at Rangiora on Monday, is the lack of time the Wellington batsmen have had in club play this summer. Even Saturday's games were washed out more than 24 hours before they were due to start. "The guys are just looking forward to getting out in the middle and spending some time out there," he said. Jones, who scored 860 runs himself last year, will be opening the innings again, with Phil Chandler, back from overseas and back into the Wellington side. Selwyn Blackmore, Grant Donaldson and Chris Nevin provide fine back-up through the order while newcomer Rhys Morgan has a chance to establish a permanent place for himself in the side. The big mover in the batting sense however, may be James Franklin. While the early attention in his still-fledgling career has been on his bowling, there is a batsman of quality waiting to break out and this year may well be his chance. Franklin also offers fine bowling prospects in partnership with Andrew Penn with Matthew Walker and newcomer Ash Turner capable of making handsome contributions. Where Wellington might have an added weapon is in its spin bowling where Mark Jefferson and Jeetan Patel have much to offer. Patel's development after last season saw batsmen get onto him a little more. But with another year to have worked on his approach it will be interesting to see what he has come up with. In a season where some good new talent is on show Wellington faces a real battle to make it back-to-back wins.
Prospects for winning Championship: 65% © CricInfo
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