2016/17 Super Smash Debrief: Team Youngins'
Not quite a Grizzy Vet just yet.
The Super Smash is done and dusted, so to cap it all off, El Niche Cache is going to host a game between the Grizzly Veterans and the Youngins'. This came about thanks to the quality performances from both parties, with a nice blend of experience and youth near in the best bowlers and batsmen of the competition.
Remember that this isn't solely about who dominated the competition as I've had to build two teams that tick all the boxes. The teams are definitely made up of the Super Smash's best players, it's just that they are also groups of players that I want to see play against each other and in the case of this Youngins' squad, it's just another Niche Cache insight into the bright future of kiwi cricket.
In fact, this concept of Grizzly Veterans vs Youngins' reflects the strong position of kiwi cricket; most teams have a beautiful blend of experience and youth. This gives the young players the opportunity to play alongisde guys who have seen it all and it keeps the vets fresh, playing their best cricket to keep their spots.
Team Youngins'
George Worker, Glenn Phillips, Henry Nicholls (skip), Tom Bruce, Jimmy Neesham, Tom Blundell (wk), Mark Chapman, Ben Wheeler, Scott Kuggeleijn, Ed Nuttall, Blair Tickner. 12th Man - Tom Latham.
George Worker: The Youngins' squad is a bit short on specialist spinners and Worker's 13 wickets @18.84avg/7.42rpo combined with his ability to open the innings, gave him the edge over other batsmen and spinners. He was one of three batsmen in the top-20 run-scorers who didn't hit a half-century, but was ranked 14th in runs and finished with 26.66avg/117.64sr.
Bat: 10 inns, 240 runs @26.66avg/117.64.
Ball: 10 inns, 13 wickets @18.84avg/7.42rpo.
Glenn Phillips: Auckland's opener and wicket-keeper Phillips finished the Super Smash as the top run-scorer, with 46.12avg/143.02sr thanks to a century and three half-centuries. There's been buzz around Phillips for the past 18 months or so and we were graced with the true emergence of Phillips in the Super Smash, a format that suits his attacking stroke-play. Phillips won't be our wicket-keeper though as Blundell's better with the gloves and what happens with Auckland's wicket-keeping spot in the Ford Trophy and Plunket Shield will be interesting as Phillips could push Brad Cachopa out of his spot.
Bat: 10 inns, 369 runs @46.12avg/143.02sr.
Henry Nicholls: Not someone who is immediately linked with T20 power-hitting, Nicholls is quickly establishing himself as one of Aotearoa's premier T20 batsmen. He had that stint with Sydney Thunder in last year's Big Bash League and finished 3rd in runs, with 48avg/141.17sr in the Super Smash which speaks for itself.
Bat: 10 inns, 336 runs @48avg/141.17sr.
Tom Bruce: Nicholls had the highest average of any Youngins' batsman and Bruce finished in 2nd with 47.16 which was also higher than Mahela Jayawardene's 45.87avg, despite Bruce playing one less innings than Jayawardene (8 vs 9). This helped Bruce bust the Blackcaps door down and demand T20 selection, but it would be foolish to pidgeon-hole Bruce as a T20 batsman; he has a First-Class average of 46.51 with three centuries and 12 half-centuries in just 21 games.
Bat: 8 inns, 283 runs @47.16avg, 171.51sr.
Jimmy Neesham: After contemplating how many games you'd have to play to make the cut, I'm happy to roll with Neesham despite him just play five games. Neesham's efficiency in those five games made him impossible to ignore though as he slipped back into domestic cricket and dominated with bat and ball. His bowling is what really stood out though as he finished up with an average of just 19.25, which when combined him hitting scores of 42*, 34, 18 and 13 at a strike-rate of 172.58, makes him a valuable commodity in that middle order.
Bat: 4 inns, 107 runs @35.66avg/172.58sr.
Ball: 5 inns, 8 wickets @19.25avg/8.10rpo.
Tom Blundell: Earning a Blackcaps call up, Blundell is clearly viewed as one of the better young glovemen in the country and with three half-centuries in nine innings, Blundell's able to play all round the wicket. He's another lad who shouldn't be just looked at as a T20 prospect as he's averaging 36.70 in FC cricket.
Bat: 9 inns, 243 runs @30.37/134.25sr.
Mark Chapman: I've got Chapman ranked in the top-five of Aotearoa's best young cricketers and the Aucklander showed impressive signs of his abilities as he featured strongly with bat and ball in the Super Smash. Despite not appearing to be overly powerful, Chapman had a strike-rate of 154.47 and his left-arm tweakers were good enough to give him a very handy bowling combo of 26.50avg/8.36rpo.
Bat: 8 inns, 207 runs @ 29.57avg/154.47sr.
Ball: 8 inns, 6 wickets @26.50avg/8.36rpo.
Scott Kuggeleijn: Still Aotearoa's best all-rounder, Kuggeleijn served up runs and wickets in the T20 format after dominating in the Plunket Shield earlier in the season. He was a reliable presence down the order for the Knights with three not-out scores over 20 in six innings' and he took a wicket in all but two of his eight innings' with the ball.
Bat: 6 inns, 107 runs @53.50avg/157.35sr.
Ball: 8 inns, 8 wickets @28.87avg/8.10rpo.
Ben Wheeler: While the likes of Jayawardene and Bruce get plenty of praise for their work with the bat for Central Districts, the Stags also had three of the best bowlers in the Super Smash. Wheeler joins his fellow lefty Worker in that bracket and strong T20 performances saw Wheeler creep back into the Blackcaps, with his death bowling bordering on legendary status.
Ball: 6 inns, 8 wickets @23.12avg/8.04rpo.
Ed Nuttall: Another lefty, Nuttall is continuing to develop nicely in all three formats. This could see Nuttall climb on to the fringes of the Blackcaps in the next year or so as he's followed up good work in Plunket Shield and Ford Trophy cricket with 11 wicket in just 10 games, finishing up as Canterbury's best Super Smash bowler.
Ball: 10 inns, 11 wickets @24.90avg/7.61rpo.
Blair Tickner: Ahed of Wheeler and Worker and leading CD's dominance with the ball was Tickner, who finished with the best bowling average of the Super Smash's best wicket-takers. In eight games, Tickner had 14 wickets and while he was slightly expensive, he was merely following the trend of the two Grizzly Veterans ahead of him in wickets (Seth Rance and Brent Arnel) who both conceded over 8rpo; risk and rewards.
Ball: 8 inns, 14 wickets @17.85avg/8.89rpo.
12th Man
Had to reserve a special mention for Tom Latham, who like his Canterbury comrade Mr Nicholls, showcased his class by switching formats and maintaining runs. We only really know of Latham as our Test opener and while he's still able to build innings' in ODI cricket, Latham smacked 211 runs at a fairly healthy strike-rate of 124.85.
Bat: 7 inns, 211 runs @30.14avg/124.85sr.