**Official** New Zealand Domestic Season 2013/2014

[Howsie]

Where would these four be playing FC cricket, pray tell? Popli played for Papatoetoe in AKL for 2-3 seasons and never made a scratch of impact, never got near 2nd XI. Very limited player. Joe Carter I'll give you, Hickey might play List A elsewhere but I doubt four-dayers, and Santner..I'm sure most other provinces have a left-arm spinner that doesn't turn it, averages 50 with the ball and 7 with the bat. In fact all provinces probably have 2 better options in that regard that I could easily list off.

Central, Otago, Canterbury.

The Popli that played for Papatoetoe as a teenager while he was studying at Auckland Uni obviously wasn't half the player he is now. He's scored a mountain of runs for Bay of Plenty in the Hawke Cup, a level of cricket higher than Auckland club stuff. Infact he has the most 100's ever for BOP now I think. Hickey would, he's scored a couple of big 200's for ND A now and Santner has just come off an "a" tournament where he was one of the highest run scorers while also taking 14 wickets @ bugger all.

 

[hendrix]

Plunket Shield: University Oval, starts today
Otago: Hamish Rutherford, Aaron Redmond, Michael Bracewell, Neil Broom, Sam Wells, Derek de Boorder (captain), Mark Craig, Neil Wagner, Jacob Duffy, James McMillan, Blair Soper, Nick Beard, Brad Rodden.

Canterbury: Peter Fulton, Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, Shanan Stewart, George Worker, Dean Brownlie, Brad Cachopa, Andrew Ellis, Todd Astle, Matt Henry, Logan van Beek, Ryan McCone.

Cricket: Test pair back as Otago presses claim | Otago Daily Times Online News : Otago, South Island, New Zealand & International News

Ryan Duffy has been dropped for Rodden

Disappointing that Bennett misses an opportunity to press his case for the Test squad, although he might already be in the back of the selectors' minds.

It's pretty overcast in Dunedin with showers. Might be a stop start day.

 

[Bahnz]

Well, I think you can argue that an opportunity to bowl at the same international players who'll be lining up in the test series, even if it is only in an ODI, is a pretty good chance to press his case.

 

[Bahnz]

How come Boult isn't turning out for ND? Unless he's a serious contender for ODI selection (which as far as I'm aware he isn't) then he really should be playing. Also, yay Bevan Small is finally getting a game!

 

[SteveNZ]

Central, Otago, Canterbury.

The Popli that played for Papatoetoe as a teenager while he was studying at Auckland Uni obviously wasn't half the player he is now. He's scored a mountain of runs for Bay of Plenty in the Hawke Cup, a level of cricket higher than Auckland club stuff. Infact he has the most 100's ever for BOP now I think. Hickey would, he's scored a couple of big 200's for ND A now and Santner has just come off an "a" tournament where he was one of the highest run scorers while also taking 14 wickets @ bugger all.

Look, they're all decent players. But you wouldn't slobber all over these blokes if they played for different associations. There's been plenty of people who have scored big Hawke Cup runs for ND/CD and gone on to do bugger all. The gap between A cricket and FC cricket is as big as its ever been. You name those sides but I'm sure a man to man comparison of all three ND players named would struggle to dislodge anyone from CD/Otago/Canterbury. Who in the top order in that Otago/Cant side are Hickey/Popli going to dislodge? Is Santner a better spinner than Beard or Astle? I'm not so sure.

 

[RxGM]

How come Boult isn't turning out for ND? Unless he's a serious contender for ODI selection (which as far as I'm aware he isn't) then he really should be playing. Also, yay Bevan Small is finally getting a game!

I think I heard he has a thigh strain or something similar though will be fit for the test

 

[Bahnz]

Battles I'm looking forward to in this round:

Henry v Wagner
Latham v Fulton v Rutherford
Sodhi v Patel
Young v Mitchell
Papps v Auckland
Popli v the weight of Howsie's expectations

 

[Bahnz]

I know his issues have been injury related so far, but does anyone else think that Small should move somewhere else? There's a lot of competition for bowling spots at CD with Bracewell, Wheeler and Milne all jostling for places. Might have a safer spot in the side if he moved to somewhere like ND or Otago - and obviously if you believe in all that political stuff that could smoothe the path for his elevation to NZ as well.

 

[Blocky]

He'd have similar struggles with the ND side although I guess Otago could be an option with a few aging bowlers. I wouldn't say players from ND or Otago have any better luck at making the NZ side than CD though.

 

[Bahnz]

He'd have similar struggles with the ND side although I guess Otago could be an option with a few aging bowlers. I wouldn't say players from ND or Otago have any better luck at making the NZ side than CD though.

Maybe, but Southee and Boult won't be available for domestic duty very often and Aldridge will be 37 by next season. Looking at the other guys in the ND stable (Verma, Kuggs etc.) I reckon Small wouldn't have too much difficulty nailing down a spot.

 

[ohnoitsyou]

I wouldn't say players from ND or Otago have any better luck at making the NZ side than CD though.

Nah, i do reckon ND and Otago players have a slight advantage, just because Bradburn and Hesson were involved with the sides until recently, although its not anything near as bad as we make it out. Case in point; Devcich probably wouldn't have gotten on the A tour if he wasn't one of Bradburn's favourites.

 

[straw man]

Stoked that FC cricket starting again today - had forgotten about that. As always, I want wickets from faaaaast bowlers.... so of course three of the four wickets to fall so far this morning across the country have been to Bates and CDG.

Other than that, more runs from Latham would be nice.

 

[Bahnz]

C to de ****ing G.

On the plus side the pitch down in Dunedin looks like a typical lifeless belter, so this might give Redmond a much needed chance to make up some ground on PEWS. Er, I meant Papps.

First points in the battle of the openers goes to lil' SoR

 

[straw man]

I know his issues have been injury related so far, but does anyone else think that Small should move somewhere else? There's a lot of competition for bowling spots at CD with Bracewell, Wheeler and Milne all jostling for places. Might have a safer spot in the side if he moved to somewhere like ND or Otago - and obviously if you believe in all that political stuff that could smoothe the path for his elevation to NZ as well.

He probably would have an easier time making the XI in some other provinces yes, but if fit I don't think he should have too much trouble at CD either. Even if he remains behind all of Bracewell, Milne and Wheeler, at least one of those will nearly always be unavailable due to national duty or injury imo.

 

[Howsie]

Aldridge @ 11. Insanely long batting line up for Northern Districts today and it looks as though they are going to need it. To go from 79-1 to 90-5 is piss poor, backing us to go 300+ from here though.

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

Another failure for Rob Nicol. What's his first class average this season? Must be dreadful. Does anyone have a worse first class average?

EDIT: I forgot he got 87, but let us have a look at his median...

0, 0, 0, 2, 1, 87, 2 are his scores this season.

So... At least he's consistent.

Looks like only Grant Elliott would be behind him (out of players who are batsmen and have played a reasonable number of games). A lower average than Andy McKay even...

 

[BC_fan_abored]

PG Fulton 2 4 0 65 31 16.25 182 35.71 0 0 0 8 0
RJ Nicol 3 6 0 90 87 15.00 245 36.73 0 1 3 4 3
Worker 2 4 0 59 41 14.75 207 28.50 0 0 0 6 0

worst three batsmen for canterbury
(without the most recent 2 from nicol)
Shocking season for worker and fulton as well

TWM Latham 3 6 1 420 241* 84.00 748 56.14 1 2 0 42 3

Latham killing it though.

 

[SteveNZ]

Another failure for Rob Nicol. What's his first class average this season? Must be dreadful. Does anyone have a worse first class average?

EDIT: I forgot he got 87, but let us have a look at his median...

0, 0, 0, 2, 1, 87, 2 are his scores this season.

So... At least he's consistent.

Looks like only Grant Elliott would be behind him (out of players who are batsmen and have played a reasonable number of games). A lower average than Andy McKay even...

Hey ease up, no one plays the cover drive from outside leg stump like Andy does.

I think I may have to pay up on my bet with a mate that Rob would score an int hundred against a non-minnow - that's looking increasingly unlikely.

 

[hendrix]

C to de ****ing G.

On the plus side the pitch down in Dunedin looks like a typical lifeless belter, so this might give Redmond a much needed chance to make up some ground on PEWS. Er, I meant Papps.

First points in the battle of the openers goes to lil' SoR

If Rutherford scores, we know it's a typical lifeless belter and we can put a little less weighting on Latham's runs…but Fulton, Brownlie and Nicol failed, so it mightn't be that bad. Latham's runs this season should mean he at least gets into the squad for West Indies, unless he has some diabolical collapse in form.

Speaking of diabolical, how bad has Nicol been? I never rated him but it sucks to see someone fail that badly. I mean, he was (erroneously) playing for the black caps not that long ago.

Interesting that Wagner hasn't picked up a wicket. One would think he needs to be in good form going into the test series to stave off Bennett.

 

[SteveNZ]

PG Fulton 2 4 0 65 31 16.25 182 35.71 0 0 0 8 0
RJ Nicol 3 6 0 90 87 15.00 245 36.73 0 1 3 4 3
Worker 2 4 0 59 41 14.75 207 28.50 0 0 0 6 0

worst three batsmen for canterbury
(without the most recent 2 from nicol)
Shocking season for worker and fulton as well

TWM Latham 3 6 1 420 241* 84.00 748 56.14 1 2 0 42 3

Latham killing it though.

But if you go on Blocky's 'get rid of the high not out' theory, he only averages 35. Must do better.