Breaking down the domestic cricket contract lists
Something similar to a bat signal appeared in the sky last Friday, only it was the silohuette of a blade of willow calling our almost bestest cricketers to duty. Yes, the domestic cricket contract list was released and those who were lucky enough to get named can now go to Wendy's and upsize that combo with no second thought. Those who didn't get named, well they probably got New Zealand Cricket contracts so who cares about them.
Auckland
Dean Bartlett Anaru Kitchen Michael Guptill-Bunce
Michael Bates Tarun Nethula
Brad Cachopa Rob Nicol
Carl Cachopa Robert O'Donnell
Colin De Grandhomme Matt Quinn
Lockie Ferguson Jeet Raval
Donovan Grobbelaar Warren Barnes
Ah the jaffas. On the whole it's pretty similar to last season's crop besides the return to A-Town of Brad Cachopa, Carl Cachopa, Tarun Nethula and Rob Nicol. Nethula looks likely to be the chief spinner and impressive young seamer Matt Quinn will be someone to keep an eye on. Auckland look like they'll be without the services of the youngest Cachopa who has taken up a contract with Sussex, bit of a loss there as he's a talented young chap but the two older Cachopa's should bolster their batting stocks.
Besides Quinn, make sure to tune in to how Robert O'Donnell goes as he's a prodigious young batting talent and Lockie Ferguson can bowl fast while Warren Barnes is a nifty young seamer as well.
Northern Districts
Graeme Aldridge Jonathan Hickey Tony Goodin
James Baker Scott Kuggeleijn
Jonathan Boult Daryl Mitchell
Dean Brownlie Bharat Popli
Joseph Carter Mitchell Santner
Anton Devcich Anurag Verma
Daniel Flynn Brad Wilson
The Knights have a crop of youngsters who will again look to impress while their rather large Black Caps contingent are away. Jonathan Hickey made a good go of his opportunities last season and with Joseph Carter, Daryl Mitchell and Bharat Popli also making the most of their opportunities, ND have some pretty impressive young batsmen. Dean Brownlie will definitely help bolster their batting line up and he'll give ND another wise head.
Bowling wise, Anurag Verma and James Baker are both young quicks with a fair amount of ability. It'll be interesting to see how ND go when they don't have their Black Caps as the have a fair few which means that there's many opportunities for others to stand up and impact results.
Central Districts
Doug Bracewell Seth Rance Dean Robinson
Greg Hay Bevan Small
Jamie How Ben Smith
Marty Kain Kruger Van Wyk
Andrew Mathieson Ben Wheeler
Kieran Noema-Barnett George Worker
Ajaz Patel Will Young
If ND have possibly the best crop of young batsmen, CD could make and impressive case for the bowling equivalent. Obviously with Doug Bracewell slightly out of favour, he'll be keen for a biggun' this season to make it impossible for national selectors to ignore him. With Bevan Small, Andrew Mathieson and Ben Wheeler there to offer support and of course Adam Milne floating around, they'll be worth a watch.
George Worker returns and definitely keep an eye on Will Young who's a very talented batsman. Ajaz Patel and Marty Kain will battle it out for the spinning spot and you'd expect to see another good season from Jamie How as he nears the end of his career.
Wellington
Brent Arnel Stephen Murdoch Matt Taylor
Tom Blundell Michael Papps
Grant Elliott Jeetan Patel
James Franklin Michael Pollard
Mark Gillespie Malaesili Tugaga
Dane Hutchinson Henry Walsh
Andrew McKay Luke Woodcock
The Firebirds always go all right because they've got a crop of veterans who aren't quite in the picture for the Black Caps. This season will be no different with many of the top shelf veterans like Grant Elliot, James Franklin, Jeetan Patel and Michael Papps who is coming off a barnstorming season last go around.
In fact, they've kept a reasonably solid group together with some young names like batsmen Tom Blundell, Henry Walsh and Michael Pollard sounding pretty familiar thanks to having a few seasons under their belts. Wellington will need some decent contributions from their younger crop to support their veterans as the torch must be passed at some stage.
Canterbury
Todd Astle Peter Fulton Cole McConchie
Logan van Beek Roneel Hira
Hamish Bennett Kyle Jamieson
Neil Broom Tim Johnston
Brendon Diamanti Ryan McCone
Andrew Ellis Henry Nicholls
Cameron Fletcher Edward Nuttall
Canterbury could be the big movers and shakers, well considering they won the Plunket Shield last season I'm not sure how much they can move or shake ... but they've rejigged their squad with a few new faces who should add some spice to the group. Neil Broom is pretty freaking talented and is a fair replacement for Dean Brownlie, hopefully the Cantabs can extract all the talent out of Broom. Brendon Diamanti is still doing the cricketing rounds so good on him and it looks like a pretty balanced group with experience and talented youngsters.
The leader of that young crew is Logan van Beek who has been on the scene for a while and will shoulder greater burden this season. I'd put some cash on a breakout season from him, while Cameron Fletcher has shifted down from ND for a starting keeper spot. In fact, I'd split my cash between van Beek and Fletcher. Kyle Jamieson is a tall young seamer who could get his first taste at this level while the likes of Tim Johnston, Ed Nuttall and Henry Nicholls will all be out to prove themselves.
Otago
Nick Beard Iain Robertson
Michael Bracewell Brad Rodden
Derek de Boorder Hamish Rutherford
Jacob Duffy Jesse Ryder
Ryan Duffy Bradley Scott
Tipene Friday Sam Wells
James McMillan Aaron Redmond
Sam Blakely
The Volts will be looking to make the most of their experienced group's talents led by the likes of Jesse Ryder, Derek de Boorder, Sam Wells, Aaron Redmond, Nick Beard and James McMillan. They've also got two lads who could step up and ensure that their names are being discussed in Black Caps conversations - Michael Bracewell and Jacob Duffy. Expect them to enjoy greater success after playing a few decent seasons.
Other guys who will be keen to make an impact are Ryan Duffy, Tipene Friday and Sam Blakely. Most of the onus will fall on the experienced performers however.