***Official*** New Zealand Domestic Season 2014/15

[Kippax]

No more games for Otago with the swing and the clays in the North Island they don't like, so I think they could be good at $4.50. Rutherford, Redmond, Macewell, Neesham...they all enjoy a featherbed.

 

[Kippax]

Phillips is going to play the U19 tourney, starting tomorrow. Pitch it up to him kids, for god's sake.

 

[jcas0167]

A lot of wickets tumbling. Phillips & O'Donnell's younger brothers playing for Auckland under 17's. I think Harden for CD under 19's sounds promising.

 

[Immenso]

A lot of wickets tumbling. Phillips & O'Donnell's younger brothers playing for Auckland under 17's. I think Harden for CD under 19's sounds promising.

His father played for CD as an overseas pro when TV One began showing the Shell Cup semis and final on TV.

He was light years ahead of the average NZ domestic player at controlling the middle overs of a one-day innings. Which I assumed at the time was pretty normal for a good English pro, they played a lot of one day cricket, and therefore it was really surprising how bad their national team was at it.

Harden gave me a bit of an inferiority complex on that an average pro nowhere near England selection could look so good in our comp.

 

[Immenso]

No famous surnames in the team lists of the U-19 teams this year by the looks of it.

Had become accustomed to seeing a few each year.

 

[Binkley]

His father played for CD as an overseas pro when TV One began showing the Shell Cup semis and final on TV.

He was light years ahead of the average NZ domestic player at controlling the middle overs of a one-day innings. Which I assumed at the time was pretty normal for a good English pro, they played a lot of one day cricket, and therefore it was really surprising how bad their national team was at it.

Harden gave me a bit of an inferiority complex on that an average pro nowhere near England selection could look so good in our comp.

Ha! Ditto. I remember having exactly the same feelings when watching Richard Harden bat. It wasn't just him either. All English pros of that era seemed to be on a level above in the New Zealand domestic game. But I also remember a young whipper-snapper called Simon Doull ripping Harden out with a peach of a ball in a televised semi-final in about 1990. I celebrated like he had just castled the Don.

 

[Flem274*]

I've just looked this bloke up. Averaged 45 in one dayers for CD (no tons though) and it was his better format. Didn't have a great time in the red ball stuff.

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

Used to be a lot of English pros in NZ cricket in the early 90s. Taita Cricket Club had Andy Pick, Steve Andrew, Jonathan (JJB) Lewis. Andy Pick in particular was outstanding for Wellington - I'm not sure if Andrew or Lewis got a game or not, but that shows that there were some excellent English pros floating around the game back then, whilst these days it is becoming increasingly rare.

 

[Chubb]

Used to be a lot of English pros in NZ cricket in the early 90s. Taita Cricket Club had Andy Pick, Steve Andrew, Jonathan (JJB) Lewis. Andy Pick in particular was outstanding for Wellington - I'm not sure if Andrew or Lewis got a game or not, but that shows that there were some excellent English pros floating around the game back then, whilst these days it is becoming increasingly rare.

Mal Loye played for Onslow as well. I think Rob Newton is the only one playing here this winter & I don't know how he has done.

 

[Immenso]

I've just looked this bloke up. Averaged 45 in one dayers for CD (no tons though) and it was his better format. Didn't have a great time in the red ball stuff.

By the early 90s (Harden's time) it was getting a bit better, but in the 80s a good Shell Cup player back then would average in the 30s, a mediocre batsmen would average in the mid 20s.

If someone (eg a Paul McEwan) scored a single Shell Cup century back then there would be drum rolls for a national call up. You would go a whole season and only one player would get a century that year.

I grew up in the BOP and every year Mount or Tauranga Domain would get a few Shell Cup games but never a Shell Trophy match as the pitches weren't FC standard even by the standards of the day. Each year the local cricket administrati would lament that the quality of the match (180 v 160) wasn't a good advert for the several thousand holidaying people who would attend.

There would be matches in Morrinsville, Whakatane, Alexandra, Levin etc

 

[Immenso]

Used to be a lot of English pros in NZ cricket in the early 90s. Taita Cricket Club had Andy Pick, Steve Andrew, Jonathan (JJB) Lewis. Andy Pick in particular was outstanding for Wellington - I'm not sure if Andrew or Lewis got a game or not, but that shows that there were some excellent English pros floating around the game back then, whilst these days it is becoming increasingly rare.

Yeah. When Tony Pigott got the emergency call up for England test in 1984. He was here playing pro club cricket for a Wellington club, not any FC stuff for Wellington.

 

[Binkley]

Used to be a lot of English pros in NZ cricket in the early 90s. Taita Cricket Club had Andy Pick, Steve Andrew, Jonathan (JJB) Lewis. Andy Pick in particular was outstanding for Wellington - I'm not sure if Andrew or Lewis got a game or not, but that shows that there were some excellent English pros floating around the game back then, whilst these days it is becoming increasingly rare.

We had Paul Johnson who scored 20,000 fc runs for Notts at Hutt Districts for a while in the late '80s/early '90s. He was a great guy to have around the club.

 

[Howsie]

Would Brad Wilson just **** off already. Probably 10 other batsman I'd select over him.

 

[Immenso]

D Mitchell. 2 off 17.

Two left arm spinners Worker and Kain.

 

[Howsie]

Classic Mitchell. Needed over 8 an over when he came in too.

 

[Hurricane]

Nd had Mathew Maynard in the 80s. Every game he seemed to top score. It also made me think all English players were superior until I found out he had been considered for national selection.
My lasting memory of a Maynard century was after he passed the milestone he got stuck with tailenders to bat with. Danny Morrison was reintroduced into the attack and Maynard visibly stiffened and concentrated harder. I don't know how fast Danny was but he was easily 4 to 5 yards quicker than anything else on show that day. Maynard dug a Yorker out for long leg and hustled to make it back for two to retain the strike and shield the tailenders. Unfortunately the tailender was an unco at running between the wickets and they ran him out even though he wasn't going to the danger end. So we lost that day.

 

[Howsie]

Brownlie WTF.

 

[Chewie]

Ha! Ditto. I remember having exactly the same feelings when watching Richard Harden bat. It wasn't just him either. All English pros of that era seemed to be on a level above in the New Zealand domestic game. But I also remember a young whipper-snapper called Simon Doull ripping Harden out with a peach of a ball in a televised semi-final in about 1990. I celebrated like he had just castled the Don.

Is his name actually Richard Harden???

 

[Binkley]

Is his name actually Richard Harden???

"Richard John Harden". What were his parents thinking?

Richard Harden | England Cricket | Cricket Players and Officials | ESPN Cricinfo

 

[jcas0167]

Nd had Mathew Maynard in the 80s. Every game he seemed to top score. It also made me think all English players were superior until I found out he had been considered for national selection.
My lasting memory of a Maynard century was after he passed the milestone he got stuck with tailenders to bat with. Danny Morrison was reintroduced into the attack and Maynard visibly stiffened and concentrated harder. I don't know how fast Danny was but he was easily 4 to 5 yards quicker than anything else on show that day. Maynard dug a Yorker out for long leg and hustled to make it back for two to retain the strike and shield the tailenders. Unfortunately the tailender was an unco at running between the wickets and they ran him out even though he wasn't going to the danger end. So we lost that day.

I think when I first went to a Shell Cup game (about 90/91?) Maynard was outside the pavilion at Blake Park reading the newspaper. I approached him for an autograph, but he said he was concentrating. I didn't appreciate he was next in to bat & probably didn't want a procession of kids approaching for autographs.

I never saw Graeme Hick play for ND, but he obviously made a huge impression & was a prolific scorer. I remember Chris Kuggeleijn wrote an article saying Hick was the best timer of the ball he'd seen.

Martin Speight was another english pro who did pretty well for Wellington in the early 90's in Shell Cup.