In the cricketing world, there are those who don't care much for New Zealand, and there are those who do. There are also those who assume nobody takes New Zealand Cricket seriously enough, and unfortunately, the folks over at Radio Sport appear to be in this category.
Seemingly proving that assumption is the mother of all cock-ups, Radio Sport has dumped its coverage of the Plunket Shield (NZ's First Class domestic competition, for those who aren't aware) this season, in favour of score updates sourced from the net. Sportsfreak has organised an online petition to keep Domestic Cricket on the Radio, and forwarded the same to someone high-up in Radio Sport. This was responded to quite swiftly, with the sort of idiotic statement you would expect from the Upper Management in a Dilbert strip.
As to why anyone would want to follow domestic cricket on the radio, Sportsfreak (on observing the scores at the end of the first day of the season) says it best:
- Tim Southee’s return to full fitness is vital for this summer’s success. He hasn’t bowled many overs; is that merely cautionary or is he struggling?
- Peter Ingram had a good knock; is he actually using his feet this year?
- Young Kuggeleign has returned impressive figures on debut. But how did he bowl?
- What’s Neil Wagner’s pace like this season?
- That’s a good knock from Rob Nicol. Shame we have no idea in what kind of conditions it was scored.
For my part, I've resolved to focus a bit more on the domestic scene this year. Yes, I live many miles away in India and have only the internet as my source, and yes, I only actually started giving a shit about the domestic game maybe three years ago. But over the last year or so, I've found that even a passing interest can be rewarding. In August last year, I felt compelled to track the progress of Dean Brownlie, so it was a special kind of feeling to see him debuting in Bulawayo last week. Even more satisfying was being able to contribute a guest post on the future of NZ's pace attack over at the Sideline Slogger, where I probably didn't tell local fans anything they weren't aware of, but the discussions it sparked off in the comments section were solid gold.
Trumpet blowing aside, I suppose there is a different sort of enjoyment to be found in trying to follow the domestic scene; I intend to post a updates at the end of each round from now on, let's see how far I can go. Already there is much discussion on twitter (including some impressive coverage of the Northern Knights from Margot Butcher). With the opening games underway yesterday, I'll end with a brief look at the teams:
Northern Districts: The Knights will be likely be missing several first-class players away on national duty (Vettori, Williamson, Southee) but still enjoy a fair bit of firepower in both departments. The Herald picked left-armer Trent Boult as the player to watch, and I would also focus on Daniel Flynn, who is pretty close to a Black Caps recall, though injury has sidelined him for the moment.
Wellington: Despite contributing several players to the national side, the Firebirds have been poor in all formats. Michael Papps, best remembered for being at the receiving end of a few Brett Lee specials, has moved here from Canterbury and apparently still harbours hopes of being a regular test opener. The side had a potent pace attack in Mark Gillespie and Andy McKay last season, and teenage newcomer Scott Kuggelien will further bolster that department now; these three are worth keeping an eye on.
Auckland: The Aces swept both limited-overs events last year but weren't a force in the longer version. They aren't particularly strong on batting but Anaru Kitchen is a name that comes recommended. Left-armer Michael Bates was outstanding in those two T20 games in the Champions League, and should definitely be considered by the Black Caps as an accurate option for the shorter formats.
Central Districts: Their batting is carried by has-beens such as Ingram, Sinclair and How, but a generation of impressive young quicks has earned the Stags a fair amount of attention. Doug Bracewell has already graduated to the top level, Ben Wheeler and Bevan Small are real prospects, and of course there's 18 year-old Adam Milne who got everyone excited by hitting 150 km/h last year against Pakistan. I still feel Milne needs a lot more domestic cricket before he's ready for the big-time, but what I'm most interested to find out is whether his frail self can get through the season without picking up an injury.
Canterbury: Last year's winners and a quality side, evidenced by the fact that Rob Nicol, Dean Brownlie and Reece Young have all made the national side very recently. However, it'll be a challenge for them to maintain their run, given their pace trio of Hamish Bennett, Richard Sherlock and Matt Henry are all injured. The player to keep a close eye on is legspinner Todd Astle, who was pretty successful last season and could be called up to the black Caps given the inadequate support for Vettori at the moment.
Otago: They weren't all that flash last season, but have a pretty reasonable side on paper. The batting is well served by domestic stalwarts such as Aaron Redmond, Craig Cumming and Neil Broom, while England's very own Steven Finn will share the new ball with the great South African hope Neil Wagner , who will probably walk into the NZ side when he qualifies in April. My pick is Derek De Boorder, supposedly the tidiest gloveman on the domestic scene, and with a first class batting average of 42.At 25, he also has time on his side unlike the national incumbent Young (32) and the other contender, Central's Kruger Van Wyk (31).
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