The third edition of the Champions League kicks off today with little fanfare. However, the presence of the Auckland Aces has given me a reason to watch.
This Auckland side is certainly a lot stronger on paper than the two qualifiers from NZ in previous editions - there's Martin Guptill, fresh from a season of county cricket with Derbyshire, and the bowling lineup has experience in Chris Martin, Kyle Mills and Daryl Tuffey. The two kiwi exiles, Andre Adams and Lou Vincent, have been doing well for themselves in England, and the presence of two seasoned overseas players in Jimmy Adams and Rob Quiney adds some solidity.
However, given that NZ along with the West Indies and Sri Lanka are not an attractive spectatorial proposition for the big guns - India, Australia and South Africa - Auckland will need to finish in the top 3 of the qualifying round to get through to the main event, and with Kolkata and Somerset in their group it's difficult to see that happening (though the Somerset game provides a slight hope for an upset). Considering Pakistan, apart from Abdul Razzaq turning out for Lecicesteshire, have no presence in this tournament I suppose I should be glad NZ have any representation at all.
In the upcoming two games, Vincent and Adams are the individuals I'll be most rooting for. It's my firm belief that both were treated unfairly by New Zealand Cricket at the peak of their careers, and were discarded at a time NZ could ill afford the loss of such talent. Both are abrasive characters who rubbed more than a few people the wrong way, but when you think about how much more the English first class scene has managed to get out of them, it's a shame. This could well be the last time they turn out for a New Zealand side of any kind, so a good showing in this tournament would make for an ideal signing-off.
2 comments:
Well - they did well, but failed to win a game. At the outset I would have probably been happy with 2 close games, but I really felt that we should have won both of those games.
What do you think the chances of Bates or Hira being picked up by IPL teams next year are after those performances.
Hey Mykuhl, yup both the games should have been won..it's a shame that the scorebook shows Auckland did as badly as the NZ sides of the previous two edition, when they probably played well enough to deserve a spot in the main draw (OK, at least in the field).
Don't know about Ronnie Hira, I'm not sure he has it in him to step up to the highest level, but I sure hope Micheal Bates features in NZ's ODI or T20 side...if he is to get noticed by the IPL owners he needs a shot at the international level.
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