Domestic Cricket Daily: Plunket Shield #7
Pink ball Plunket Shield cricket was heavily impacted by the weather so we didn't get to see three full, four-day contests. There was enough cricket played to give us some insight into how our domestic cricketers are tracking and as always there were a few performances that when placed inside a Blackcaps context, offer plenty of intrigue.
Wellington vs Otago
Michael Papps (Wellington) and Sam Wells (Otago) both hit centuries, with Papps' knocking coming at the top of Wellington's batting line up while Wells chipped in lower down the order. This was an impressive all-round game for Wells as he took 3w/3.63rpo in Otago's only innings with the ball as Wellington reached 302/8dec and then hit his century with a strike-rate of 53.88.
The real funk however comes via a couple half-centuries. Otago's Nathan Smith hit his first Plunket Shield half-century as he and Wells salvaged a draw for Otago with their lower-order runs. Smith is only 18-years-old and enjoyed some spotlight last round thanks to his 5-wicket-haul with his medium pace, here he was battling against Wellington's always impressive bowling group led by Hamish Bennett (4w/1.9rpo in the first dig) and Brent Arnel (4w/1.82rpo) in the second. Smith came in at No.9 and also managed a cheeky 2* as Otago were skittled for 98 in their first innings and I'm going to keep a close eye on this kid in the remaining games.
As Papps hit his century, Tom Blundell scored 68* and continues to knock on the Blackcaps door. This was Blundell's third half-century of the Plunket Shield and he's averaging 57 this season, putting him well ahead of ND's Tim Seifert (31.16avg) and slightly ahead of CD's Dane Cleaver (51); Cleaver doesn't get the attention he probably should.
Northern Districts vs Central Districts
Ish Sodhi was the headline act here with 7w/3.24rpo in a hefty stint of leg-spin that spanned 33 of the 78.4 overs bowled in CD's first innings. CD have an impressive batting line up but Sodhi rolled through Greg Hay, Ben Smith, Will Young, Tom Bruce and Cleaver to stamp his mark on day/night four-day cricket. This performance came as Jeetan Patel was selected over Tim Southee in the Blackcaps team to face South Africa down in Dunedin and although we all know that when Sodhi bounces down to domestic cricket, he dominates regardless of the format, this is another reminder of how effective an attacking spinner can be.
It was interesting to hear that some folk view Patel as the No.1 spinner, or that his selection justified that view. I'll expand on the spinner situation in the Plunket Shield in the next few days as it's super funky (Ajaz Patel, Tarun Nethula and Todd Astle all have more wickets than Sodhi and Patel although there are a few other variables to weigh up) but a direct comparison between Sodhi and Patel in the Plunket Shield makes for interesting reading.
Ish Sodhi: 4 games, 6 innings, 135 overs, 20 wickets @ 25.50avg/3.73rpo.
Jeetan Patel: 5 games, 8 innings, 211.2 overs, 19 wickets @ 28.31avg/2.54rpo.
96 Likes, 3 Comments - Central Stags (@cdstags) on Instagram: "Ajaz Patel. Top #firstclasscricket wicket-taker in NZ this season ✅Top #firstclasscricket wicket-..."
Someone who has apparently has never really been on the Blackcaps radar despite his lovely work for CD is seamer Seth Rance. Rance took 6w/1.82rpo with the pink ball he is once again sitting as one of the best domestic seamers with an average of just 21.14/2.81rpo. Rance has only played four games and has taken 14 wickets which has him down the wicket-taking rankings but only Neil Wagner (13.07avg/2.50rpo!!!!!!) and Kyle Jamieson (18avg/3.50rpo) have better averages than Rance of seamers with over 10 wickets.
ND didn't have anyone pass 50, while CD's list of run-scorers is fun to explore. Greg Hay scored 90 and is ranked 6th in runs this season - keep an eye out for a veteran batsman angle in the coming days as well - averaging 52.44 as an opener for CD. George Worker also hit 72, batting down the order a wee bit at No.4 and he'll be looking to stack up some Plunket Shield runs to keep himself in the mix for any opening that eventuates.
Then Adam Milne chimed in with 51* batting a No.7. Milne didn't take a wicket in his 14 overs but the national selectors have always appeared to like his batting and a bloke who can bowl fast and still offer something with the bat is a handy option. There's a long way to go for Milne and while he didn't roll through ND with the ball, he contributed with the bat and it'll be fun to watch how he progresses from here.
Canterbury vs Auckland
Adding more weight to the veteran batsmen domination was a century from Canterbury's Andrew Ellis and 89 from Auckland's skipper Rob Nicol. Ellis's century takes him to 3rd in the run-scoring rankings and he is averaging 44.54 this season while also chipping in with 30.53avg/2.45rpo with the ball.
Nicol has quietly gone about his business in leading a young Auckland side and despite not hitting a century this season, only Otago's Brad Wilson (four 50+ knocks ... another vet) and Tom Bruce (five 50+ knocks) can rival/better Nicol's four 50+ knocks.
Two young bucks also scored half-centuries in this game with the return of Ken McClure for Canterbury yielding 92 runs, while Auckland's wicket-keeper Ben Horne hit 93. McClure struggled to back up his excellent season last summer and this was his first half-century in six Plunket Shield games this summer which differs greatly to his career First-Class average of 44.33 (he's just 22-years-old).
Glenn Phillips made his FC debut for Auckland but Horne appears to be the preferred wicket-keeper (Phillips was bowled for 4 off 13 balls), meaning Phillips has to score runs to keep his spot. Especially as Horne is settling into domestic cricket nicely with three handy innings' in a row; 10*, 44*, 93.
Further complicating the spinner situation were Canterbury's spinning duo of Todd Astle and Tim Johnston. Auckland's leggy Tarun Nethula went wicket-less, but Astle took 5w/3rpo and Johnston's offies took 3w/3.19rpo. Astle has sat near the top of the wicket-taking rankings with Nethula and Patel in recent seasons, so we've come to expect him to average 20.40/3.08rpo as he is this season.
The surprise package to some extent is Johnston and after playing a key role in Cantebury's Ford Trophy campaign, he's taking that into the Plunket Shield. Johnston has 12 wickets with an average of 35.25 which is understandable as he's got an attacking leggy in Astle doing the damage but Johnston isn't too far behind the other notable offie in Aotearoa.