Aside from a couple of Blackcaps Battlers making a change, the domestic cricket landscape in Aotearoa is fairly settled heading into the 2018/19 season. The best clubs (I call them clubs, associations is too meh) will obviously benefit from that settled nature, bringing back the same core group that has brought various levels of success, while the other clubs are on the rebuilding path.

These rankings below reflect that and the main point I want to reinforce before you hit those rankings, is that the clubs that don't rank highly are very much on the up. Domestic cricket in Aotearoa is a strange ol' thing and ranking the six domestic cricket clubs wasn't easy, given how small the gap in quality, foundations and potential is between the clubs. There's no exact science to my rankings, just how I felt after meditating on the subject for a while and I've tried to find a balance between the quality that a club has right now and where they are heading.

Sticking with what these clubs have for this coming season is however more important than the direction they are heading in though. As you will find, as a domestic cricket geezer, I am less interested in the crop of Blackcaps that a domestic club has and tend to focus more on the group of players who will hold things down for the majority of the season. These rankings are not a celebration of how a club attracts Blackcaps, this is the nitty gritty of domestic cricket.

6) Otago Volts

Ah, the Volts. After a tough summer, Otago has had to refresh and to be honest, I've got no idea what the Volts will dish up this season. They bid farewell to Derek de Boorder, Neil Wagner, Jimmy Neesham and Rob Nicol, but still have the likes of Neil Broom, Mark Craig, Anaru Kitchen, Hamish Rutherford, Christi Viljoen and Brad Wilson as a core group of veterans to lead them forward.

That's an impressive group of vets, what holds me back from ranking them higher is that this group couldn't click last season and they will have to prove themselves worthy of earning a higher ranking. Which is possible, there is the chance that Otago perform better than pre-season expectations and if that's the case, look for Jacob Duffy, Warren Barnes, Shawn Hicks, Josh Finnie and Nathan Smith to play key roles. Depending on how the Volts go this season, one of those four younger lads could become a whole lot more familiar to domestic cricket fans.

1st XI

Brad Wilson, Hamish Rutherford, Neil Broom, Shawn Hicks, Josh Finnie, Anaru Kitchen, Christi Viljoen, Mark Craig, Michaell Rippon, Jacob Duffy, Warren Barnes.

5) Auckland Aces

Auckland are doing a great job in rebuilding their Aces group, ushering in a young wave of cricketers who have already tasted success after winning last season's Ford Trophy. There's very serious scope for Auckland to be ranked higher based on the talent they have and potential talent, but kiwi cricket is stacked at the moment and I simply couldn't pick their roster ahead of the others.

I do expect Auckland to finish higher that 5th in the post-season rankings. I just have that feeling that this group of cricketers will step up after many of their group made domestic debuts in the last two or three years. Auckland is home to some of the premier young talent in Aotearoa with Mark Chapman and Glenn Phillips leading that list, while the arrival of offie Will Somerville from New South Wales gives the Aces a splash of experience in their bowling department. 

A bowling attack of young bucks Jamie Brown and Ben Lister mixed in with veterans Matt McEwan and Mitchell McClenaghan, along with the spin of Somerville, is enticing. Sean Solia is another to keep a close eye on as he's been a shining light with bat, then ball in the last two seasons and how he develops will be a low key interesting narrative to follow.

1st XI

Jeet Raval, Michael Guptill-Bunce, Glenn Phillips, Sean Solia, Robbie O'Donnell, Mark Chapman, Ben Horne, Matt McEwan, Will Somervile, Mitchell McClenaghan, Jamie Brown.

4) Northern Districts Knights

Much like Auckland, Northern Districts rely heavily on a crop of younger cricketers who have moved past the debut stage and are now looking to establish themselves as certified domestic cricketers. The Knights however, well they have been doing this for a long time as they've had a hefty group of Blackcaps for almost the past decade and the come/go nature of those Blackcaps means that ND have to always have their wider squad ready for action.

ND have perfected the art of juggling a big Blackcaps group and staying relevant when their Blackcaps are away. This proven track record of development, coaching and planning puts the Knights in 4th, along with a solid playing roster. I'm relying on those off-field factors for ND more than any other domestic club, because they are so comprehensive and have been so comprehensive for so long.

The Knights roster is similar to what we've seen recently, no major changes and this will once again place a huge emphasis on the work of Daniel Flynn and Dean Brownlie with the bat. They will be supported by Tim Seifert - the best young Plunket Shield batsman from last season - and also guys like Bharat Popli and Daryl Mitchell. Popli hasn't quite hit the lofty heights that he did a few seasons ago and this Knights team looks a lot stronger with Popli holding things down at #3 or #4, while Mitchell sneakily put himself into a wider Blackcaps mix with runs and wickets; Mitchell could make a case for ND's best all-rounder spot in a battle with Scott Kuggeleijn.

Henry Cooper is the young batsman to watch, ND have a young stable of seamers who will get plenty of action (Brett Hampton, Brett Randell, Zak Gibson) and with Ish Sodhi likely to be busy for much of the summer, keep an eye on Josef Walker's tweakers.

1st XI (sans Blackcaps)

Daniel Flynn, Henry Cooper, Bharat Popli, Tim Seifert, Dean Brownlie, Daryl Mitchell, Scott Kuggeleijn, Joe Walker, Brett Hampton, Zak Gibson, James Baker.

1st XI (with Blackcaps)

BJ Watling, Mitchell Santner, Kane Williamson, Tim Seifert, Dean Brownlie, Corey Anderson, Colin de Grandhomme, Ish Sodhi, Neil Wagner, Tim Southee, Trent Boult.

3) Canterbury Kings

It's all about the foundations in Canterbury and everything is rock solid heading into the 2018/19 season. There is a young tinge to the Canterbury roster, perhaps even more so than Otago, Auckland or Northern Districts, but Canterbuy's youngsters have gained plenty of domestic experience and performed at a high level for a long time. To be honest, the presence of Andrew Ellis holds it all together for Canterbury and as they lose coach Gary Stead to Blackcaps duty, it's Ellis who stops me from dropping the Cantabs down a ranking spot.

As I write this, I'm confusing myself as Canterbury should be ranked highly but I'd listen to any argument that Auckland and/or Northern Districts could get a higher ranking. I come back to how I feel and I simply feel as though Canterbury will be in contention for all three competitions, regardless of how young etc their team is. That's the foundations thing and even though those foundations have been rattled a bit with Stead's departure (who is their new coach?), you'd be a fool to not back Canterbury cricket.

When I look at this Canterbury contracts list, I immediately think of breakout players, guys who you'll know all about later in the season. Chad Bowes is an opener who could stack up all sorts of runs, Ken McClure bounced back strongly from some dramas last season to shine with the willow and the bowling duo of Kyle Jamieson and Ed Nuttall could be on the cusp of demanding your attention.

Low key; Cameron Fletcher was among the best run-scorers last summer across all competitions, let alone one of the best wicket-keeper/batsmen. Don't sleep on Fletcher climbing Aotearoa's wicket-keeper ladder.

1st XI

Chad Bowes, Leo Carter, Ken McClure, Stephen Murdoch, Cole McConchie, Cameron Fletcher, Kyle Jamieson, Andrew Ellis, Blake Coburn, Ed Nuttall, Henry Shipley.

2) Wellington Firebirds

To best set the scene for Wellington, ponder how various Wellington players have come from  seemingly no where to either slide into the Blackcaps, or the Blackcaps mixer.  I have consistently highlighted that there are other wicket-keeper/batsmen who score more runs than Tom Blundell, but in Blundell we have a great example of someone who has come through Wellington and obviously fits the mould of what the Blackcaps want.

Rachin Ravindra leap-frogged a bunch of slick young opening batsmen to earn Aotearoa 'A' selection to tour United Arab Emirates, even though he has yet to play domestic cricket. I'm not suggesting any shenanigans, this is more about highlighting that Wellington is producing cricketers with that little bit extra, Wellington's culture puts cricketers in the best position to succeed.

Logan van Beek? He went from being a solid domestic cricketer to one of the best bowlers in Aotearoa last summer, after moving to Wellington. Jimmy Neesham is hoping to sniff around that recipe as well, having moved from Otago to Wellington.

The quality of Wellington's veterans is a standout. Michael Papps has retired, but they still have Hamish Bennett, Jeetan Patel and Luke Woodcock who are consistently among the best performers each season. Neesham, van Beek, Blundell and Michael Bracwell are all vastly experienced at this level as well, despite being fairly young and that's the core of their team right there.

I hate to say his name again, but yo; Devon Conway. We can chuck Conway in the 'vastly experience' bucket, considering his experience playing in South Africa and I've got Conway penciled in as the best undercover cricketer in Aotearoa right now - the best cricketer no one's talking about. Conway is joined by Malcolm Nofal as mandatory scorecard viewing for me, both are South Africans, both love to score runs and they both offer something funky; Conway's a wicket-keeper and Nofal's a spinner.

1st XI

Luke Woodcock, Rachin Ravindra, Malcolm Nofal, Michael Bracewell, Devon Conway, Tom Blundell, Jimmy Neesham, Logan van Beek, Jeetan Patel, Iain McPeake, Hamish Bennett.

1) Central Districts Stags

The big-dawgs. Central Districts' contract list and possible team, without any Blackcaps would rival any club's lists featuring their respective Blackcaps. That's largely thanks to an abundance of fringe-Blackcaps and I wouldn't be surprised that there could be a shift from ND to CD in terms of the club with an excessive number of Blackcaps, over the next three-five years.

Plunket Shield champions last summer means a lot and the whole gang is back for this season. How about I just list the names of CD's premier cricketers; Doug Bracewell, Tom Bruce, Dane Cleaver, Greg Hay, Ajaz Patel, Seth Rance, Black Tickner, Ben Wheeler, Will Young. To best sum it up, you only have to look at opening batsman Hay and his prolific run-scoring last summer to know that you can dwell on their star-power, while overlooking their key team members.

On top of that, the Stags have added Willem Ludick to their contract list and this dude is going to push for starting selection from game one. Ludick made his debut last summer and took 4w in 26 overs @ 3.92rpo in the first innings of his debut game vs Wellington, a Wellington team that featured all those grizzly veterans and Ludick was the best Stags bowler despite a strong CD bowling attack. Ludick also had scores of 30 and 22, which has me   eager to see how Ludick goes with greater opportunities this summer; I've got Ludick as a top-3 prospect heading into this season.

It's not just Ludick though, Josh Clarkson is an immensely talented prospect who has been emphatic in white ball cricket; T20 career strike-rate of 139.09, 50-over strike-rate of 107.94, Plunket Shield strike-rate of 96.36 ... at 21 years old. Clarkson will be hoping to push for more Plunekt Shield selection, the issue is that Clarkson and Ludick will struggle to crack a full-strength Stags team.

1st XI

Greg Hay, Ben Smith, Will Young, Tom Bruce, Dane Cleaver, Willem Ludick, Doug Bracewell, Ben Wheeler, Ajaz Patel, Seth Rance, Blair Tickner.

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