Rob Nicol is currently leading an exciting Auckland Aces team through the domestic cricket season and he answered a few questions for us....

As one of the veterans of the domestic circuit, what stands out for you as a difference in how domestic cricket was played when you started compared to now?

Batters' tempos. Most of the new breed look to dominate and score at what used to be a good one-day cricket strike rate (75 plus), that is something that has organically happened mainly because of the surfaces that are now produced and the batsmen being confident playing their shots. T20 has also empowered the batter to go for it. 

That'd be my second point, early on in my career we played on surfaces that helped your military-medium type bowlers, bowling fast negated any help from the surface so no one really did it. It was telling there for a while because when our guys went on to the international stage they didn't get the assistance they were used to and suffered. 

Conversely I think it's the opposite now as we have bowlers in the Blackcaps and fringe players plying their trade in the Plunket Shield that have a point of difference whether it is express pace, swing, seam or spinners that spin the ball. All are positives for the NZ domestic cricket scene and the Blackcaps.

You have seen a new format added to the domestic schedule, so what are some of the challenges you have faced when transitioning between T20 cricket, 50-over cricket and Plunket Shield cricket?

We are pretty lucky with the scheduling in our country and we have clear gaps to transition. For instance, leading up to the Super Smash we have a week to prepare and have some internal games to play and hone our skills. It's unlike touring internationally where they play all three formats during a tour inside a month or less.

What's your favourite format and why?

I personally really enjoy the T20 format. It's a real measure of how you play as a team. It's the closest in my opinion to football or rugby. There is a constant magnifying glass on your own personal skill-sets but also in the partnerships you garner with the ball or bat.

As a batsman, has there been a specific weakness that you have had to work hard on over the course of your career? Talk us through that process of identifying the area of improvement and how you went about that in training.

It's a constant work in progress. I've found over the period of my career I've had issues with falling over getting dismissed LBW or nicking-off playing through cover more than straight down the ground. To negate this I've developed my technique where I try to have my upper body (from waist up) all aligned in a certain way. Mostly concentrating on my shoulder being glued to my chin and my elbow presenting nice and high under that. It's a constant work on as last innings I fell LBW.

Another weakness I've had is playing the short ball. It was highlighted mostly playing at the international level. It wasn't that I was getting out to it per se, more that I couldn't score off it. This has become a mental issue as well since I've been hit a few times now and had problems with my head. 

This season I've tried to change my attitude to playing it and am putting myself in uncomfortable positions training both mentally and physically to try and get better. Mostly I've done heaps of volume drill work with tennis balls on the ball machine, looking to play it. What that does is give me the best chance because I have both eyes steadfast on the ball coming down the wicket and can then evade it if it's not there. Again a work in progress; I hit my first hook-shot for six the other week and then nicked out trying to play the hook later on in the innings.

How do you go about getting through a good spell of bowling - is it a case of putting the bowler under pressure or simply knuckling down to get through it?

It's dependent on the situation of the game really. I personally have had some good battles this season with some bowlers. Jeetan Patel and Neil Wagner have bowled some tough spells. With Jeet's one spell I faced, I tried to out-patient him and got stuck defending him for a long period. It worked to some degree having him change up his angle and bowl variations but I didn't rotate the strike as I would have liked and then relented and played a horrible shot. But in the corresponding fixture at Eden Park I took a different route and looked to attack him and in doing so was able to find a method to rotate the strike. 

Neil was a different kettle of fish, whilst playing him I knew I had to nullify his weapon the short ball and see out his spells. He came hunting in different areas and set fields for different modes of dismissal. That was a cool little battle. It's class playing against guys that have the control and nous to ply those sorts of plans against you.

What are some key training drills that you make sure to do most training sessions?

Basically I try to do a lot of what I call the 'feel good strokes' in my drill work. Over-arm throw-downs for drives and on the full under arms from a kneeling position for cuts and pulls. If there is a ball machine where we are playing sometimes I can get hooks and pulls done with tennis balls. Watching the bounce is good for the eye.

Who is the quickest bowler you have faced in domestic cricket?

I've faced many over the years now. A couple that I remember pretty vividly are Lance Hamilton and Iain O'Brien. Neither was consistently the quickest over the years but we managed to do battle just as they were really firing and carried on to play for the Blackcaps around that time. Both gave me a full running over. Great challenge. Facing the likes of Shane Bond, Hamish Bennett and Lockie Ferguson in the nets as well has been pretty intense.

Are you excited or weary about the young kiwi cricket talent coming through the Plunket Shield?

Very, very excited. Every fixture this year we have faced up against quality fringe bowlers and batters, add that to players that have had international experience and players close to selection; the Shield is in great shape. You only have to look at our last fixture (Canterbury) to see how some of the games are shaping up and how competitive the sides are.