Domestic Cricket Daily: Central Districts Stags and Their Niggly Start To Summer
The start to a kiwi summer couldn't get much more niggly for Central Districts Stags as the Blackcaps and Aotearoa 'A' tours to United Arab Emirates are going complicate first few rounds of their Plunket Shield campaign. It's not so much the Blackcaps offering the niggle, the strength of the Stags is the number of players they have in the tier below and while they may enjoy the services of some certified Blackcaps to start with, the Aotearoa 'A' tour could do the most damage.
That damage starts with the coach, Heinrich Malan. Malan's impact on CD cricket has been immense and he was recently in the mix to snare the Blackcaps gig, now he's been lined up by NZC to lead the Aotearoa A team on their tour of UAE vs Pakistan A and back that up in Aotearoa against India A. I doubt the absence of Malan will have much of an impact on the Stags though as they have appointed Ben Smith as coach while Malan's away, with Smith already having experience with the Stags playing group a few seasons ago as an assistant coach.
Malan is a shrewd operator as well and will ensure that there is a seamless transition, or multiple seamless transitions between he and Smith as coaches. The continuity of having an experienced coach in Smith, with those Stags vibes will be equally as important and we can only assume, based on what the Stags have done in recent years, that a fair amount of planning would have been done for these niggly next three months.
The Blackcaps tour of UAE doesn't start until October 31st and with Plunket Shield cricket getting undeway on October 10th, many Blackcaps will probably lace up for their teeny-weeny dose of Plunket Shield action this summer. I've got no idea of the Blackcaps traveling logistics, it's possible that Adam Milne, Seth Rance and Ross Taylor could be in action for the Stags in that opening round as they are in the Blackcaps T20 squad (T20 series starts on October 31st) and aren't in the A squad.
October 12th signals the start of the A tour with the first T20 against Pakistan A and although it is possible that A players could play the first day of Plunket Shield cricket, that would be a bit silly. The talent that has made CD such a domestic force, snuggles perfectly into that 'A' tier with Tom Bruce, Will Young, George Worker, Ajaz Patel and Blair Tickner all selected in the A squad.
That's five of CD's best players who won't be in action for the first game of the Plunket Shield and as the A tour goes on until mid-November, that's a couple rounds of Plunket Shield cricket without that A crew for the Stags. There is a crossover with the Blackcaps being on tour as well, so for at least one Plunket Shield game, probably two in late October/early November the Stags are likely to be without Taylor, Milne, Rance, Patel, Bruce, Young, Worker and Tickner.
This is the type of reward you get for having such an efficient production line of talent and what I find especially fascinating is that the Stags will still be able to roll out a competitive team, if not competitive then a bloody interesting team featuring some of Aotearoa's best up and coming talent.
An experienced core will hold things down for the Stags; Doug Bracewell, Ben Wheeler, Greg Hay and Dane Cleaver. Those four could all make their own cases for Aotearoa A selection, but have been overlooked and will instead play a key leadership role during this niggly period.
Bracewell and Wheeler are super valuable as they are a possible new-ball duo and will enjoy plenty of responsibility with the willow; perhaps batting #6 and #7. In the seam department, they'll be supported by Navin Patel, Ryan McCone and Bevan Small. Without Patel, there isn't a legit spinner on CD's contract list which opens the door for someone fresh to fill that void.
As long as Hay is opening the batting, CD should be all good. This is the dude who passed 50 in all but one of his nine games last season and averaged 60.46, plus Ben Smith (not the coach, silly billy) will open alongside Hay and re-form their solid opening combo. Interestingly, Jesse Ryder was not offered a contract despite averaging 71.11 last summer, which doesn't rule him out of making an appearance for the Stags if they need a veteran batsman.
The funk though sits in the young trio of Josh Clarkson, Christian Leopard and Willem Luddick. These three are all 21-years-old and have played one or two First-Class games (Luddick and Leopard have played one, Clarkson two). Depending on what coach Smith wants, these three youngsters could feature heavily in the opening rounds and as they are all decent all-rounders, there are plenty of line up options available. Funnily enough, Leopard and Clarkson played against Luddick at the 2016 Under 19 World Cup with Luddick in the South African U19 team; Luddick skittled Leopard's stumps in the play-off for 11th.
Luddick batted #7 in his Plunket Shield debut last summer, while also taking 4 wickets in his first innings with the ball. Clarkson also batted #7 in his last FC game, way back in 2015 and Leopard batted #8 in his last outing in 2016, allowing for the possibility that these three bat ahead of or below Bracewell and Wheeler.
Brad Schmulian didn't get a contract, however we're likely to see him back in the mix this summer after a strong debut stint with the Stags last summer. Schmulian does offer some spin and is a versatile batsman, which will be useful in these opening rounds. I've whipped up a hard and fast playing XI sans Blackcaps and A players that could be rolled out by the Stags;
Greg Hay, Ben Smith, Brad Schmulian, Josh Clarkson, Dane Cleaver (wk), Doug Bracewell, Willem Luddick, Ben Wheeler, Bevan Small, Navin Patel, Ryan McCone.
There are a bunch of options though and this will add great intrigue to the opening rounds of Plunket Shield cricket as the Stags will be forced to showcase their depth. Depending on your buzz, you will either be excited about the prospect of some regular FC cricket for Luddick, Clarkson and Leopard, or the chance for Bracewell, Hay, Cleaver and Wheeler to lead the Stags performance-wise could see them dominate early. As the Domestic Cricket Daily joker, I'm fizzing for both and generally eager to see what the Stags dish up over the next few months.
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Peace and love 27.