With the state shield final tomorrow, thought i'd have a quick think about those who have succeeded, and those who haven't in this year's one day competition.
Winners:
Grant Elliot -> top batting and bowling makes him an increasingly attractive option for the troublesome no.6 batting spot in the Black Caps.
Greg Hay -> Has had a solid, if unspectacular season for Central, and continues to make good progress, but the middle order for the national side is pretty solid and he's still a year or two away as is.
Daniel Flynn -> Hit a couple of hundreds and looked very good for a weak Northern side. Moronic decision to bring him into the national squad, and I hope it doesn't affect his confidence too much.
Martin Guptill -> the tournament's top run scorer, the rock around which Auckland's succesful season has been based, and a solid prospect. Unlikely to get into the national side any time soon, though, with McCullum, How, Ryder and maybe one day Vincent all more attractive options
Hamish Bennett -> The Timaru Terror has been a waste of space in the Canterbury lineup for the last few seasons, but finally came right this year with 16 wickets in 7 matches (including a 6 for against Auckland) and a solid performance against England. Needs to do it again next year before he even begins to become a selection prospect.
Leighton Burtt -> The other Cantab to benefit from bowling in Bond's slipstream. Has the competition's best strike rate and a regular wicket taker, both this season and last. Let Canterbury down with a poor bowling effort on an unresponsive pitch in the semi, but another player who may push for selection in coming seasons.
Nathan McCullum -> Another strong all round season for McCullum with plenty of run's and wickets keeping the pressure on Jeetan Patel for that second spinner role in the ODI squad.
Bradley Scott -> Continues to go about his business with plenty of wickets and the odd runs here and there. Short term prospect for the ODI squad.
Losers:
James McMillan -> after a strong A tour earlier in the year, McMillan settled back into his usual routine of injury and inconsistency, and as he gets older it seems less and less likely that his reported pace will ever be seen in a black uniform.
Brandon Hiini -> New Zealand's whitest Maori had a poor year with the ball and an indifferent one with the bat (though that could largely be put down to batting at no.9). His strong performances seem restricted to the first class arena which is a pity, as his medium pace would seem unlikely to threaten international test batting lineups.
Richard Sherlock -> Has any New Zealand cricketer ever generated so much talk, whilst playing so few matches? Back at CD, where he played a couple of mid season matches without making an impression, before disappearing off the radar again in the final round.
Colin de Grandhomme -> The Zimbabwean age group representative has had a tough year. One hopes he can fight back next season, but I'm not holding my breath.
David Houpapa -> His high handle grip has been compared to Gilchrist, but that's about where the similarities end. 65 runs at an average of 13 is poor in anyone's language. Perhaps he would benefit by batting higher in the order next year.
Bruce Martin -> Not a dreadful season, but his performances seem to be gradually declining with each passing year, and one doubts he'll ever make it to the national side with Captain Dan still having at least another 7 years in the tank, injury providing.
Should be a good final on Saturday, though I have to say, McCullum or no McCullum, Auckland should have far too much for Otago.
