Aotearoa's State of Spin: Auckland Aces,Northern Districts Knights and Central Districts Stags.
Up top, the spin situation in Aotearoa was impacted by the Blackcaps summer of transition and transformation to tidy itself up a wee bit. Ajaz Patel grabbed the Test nod for the series against India, while Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi reinforced their cases for white ball selection. Don't forget that Todd Astle's decision to step away from Test cricket contention was also a factor, plus Will Somerville's in an interesting ol' spot with Auckland Aces having suffered an injury mid-season.
The Blackcaps spin situation has been rather complex in recent years, to the point that I settled in a pool of simplicity; who ever you think is the best, then cool bro. We now enter winter having cleared some clutter and while there are some low key fascinating blokes and narratives to keep an eye on moving forward, right now we know that it's Patel, Sodhi and Santner rightly or wrongly packed into the different formats.
Below the Blackcaps, in the glorious land of domestic cricket (real deal Plunket Shield and Ford Trophy shit) the funk seeps deeper into the landscape. Whether it's Auckland working through the arrival of Louis Delport and where that leaves Somerville, or Wellington leaning on all-rounders for their spin overs, or the general absence of a young ripper who has domestic cricket nerds frothing at the spin potential in Aotearoa; things are interesting.
I'll briefly touch on things with the Aces because I've spun this yarn numerous times in reflecting on the summer. As far as wickets for spinners go, Delport was 2nd in the Ford Trophy and 1st in the Plunket Shield, which came after Delport snapped up an opportunity for game time via Somerville's injury. Auckland also flipped Glenn Phillips from a wicket-keeper to a spinner, with Phillips bowling 59 overs in the Plunket Shield and a cheeky 11ov in the Ford Trophy.
Here is how Phillips' Plunket Shield stuff stacks up to Aotearoa's best this summer:
Santner: 104.5ov, 7w @ 57.42avg.
Astle: 90.5ov, 6w @ 53.66avg.
Phillips: 59ov, 5w @ 24.80avg.
Sodhi: 54.5ov, 3w @ 80avg.
The battle between Somerville and Delport could have Blackcaps implications, zoning in on Somerville as he chases another Blackcaps gig. Common sense suggests that Delport will need another season or two of impressive work to enter the Blackcaps equation, which starts with Delport nailing the spin spot for the Aces. This is the headline act for the Aces, yet we are also introduced to what I believe is the major layer of insight in this whole spin sussing session with the all-rounders doing service-able work.
It's obviously not just Phillips in Auckland as Mark Chapman can also roll the arm over, while Jeet Raval can serve up adequate leggies. This gives Auckland three 'part-time' spinners to go with their big donnie spinner, with those three part-timers batting in the top-five more often than not. Auckland's situation is all about the Somerville vs Delport battle though and such a battle is not all that common across Aotearoa's domestic cricket circuit.
Below the Sodhi/Santner duo, Northern Districts Knights rely on Josef Walker. That alone is niggly as Walker will generally only play when both Sodhi and Santner are unavailable, making it tricky for Walker to stack up overs and work on his craft. When Anton Devcich wants to play, then another spin option appears, otherwise the Knights operate with Walker as their main domestic spinner.
Walker's career stats suggest that he has struggled with the in/out nature of being in the same team as Sodhi and Santner; 44.9avg in First-Class and 55avg in List-A. This summer though, Walker was far more effective than the Blackcaps tweakers with 10w @ 20.10avg in the Plunket Shield and 7w @ 25avg in the Ford Trophy. This was the best summer of Walker's career so far with Walker averaging under 30 for the second time in seven season of Plunket Shield and the first time under 30 in four Ford Trophy seasons.
The funk for the Knights sits in how they can continue to develop Walker, in the context of Sodhi and Santner popping back to domestic cricket for a game here, game there. For Walker to emerge as a enticing spin prospect, he'll have to shine in a situation that is less than ideal and how he backs up his best season will be a low key spin narrative to watch out for.
Ajaz Patel runs things for Central Districts Stags and Patel got through plenty of work in domestic cricket this summer as he only returned to the Blackcaps late in the summer. Compared to the other Test contenders, Patel was the best Plunket Shield spinner by a hefty margin (compare Patel's 14w @ 26.07avg to the others listed above), although there were still overs to be bowled by the likes of George Worker and Brad Schmulian.
The Stags had two spinners average under 30 in the Plunket Shield, with Schmulian taking 8w @ 24avg in his 62.3ov. Schmulian is a leggy who has quickly emerged as an underground king contender, averaging 28.66 (ball) and 41.60 (bat) in First-Class cricket through 16 games. While Schmulian offers great value to the Stags, literally being the perfect bloke to plug into any hole, Schmulian and Worker are unlikely to be factors at a higher level in the next 12 months.
Auckland and Central Districts serve up the same general situation where they have a top-tier option and then further back up options. Both levels of spin are good enough where there is a lack of opportunities for a young spinner to snap up opportunities as all bases are effectively covered. This will naturally shift in the coming years, right now though Auckland and CD perhaps have the strongest collection of spin in their domestic ranks.
With Sodhi and Santner, ND may have the best pure talent. The Knights also have someone in Walker who could provide some complications moving forward if he continues to trend in a positive direction. This will require game time and with Sodhi and Santner unlikely to play much Test cricket in the near future, this could leave Walker wondering where his overs will come from.
Across all three teams here, there doesn't seem to be opportunities for a young baller to rise through the ranks - if there are young ballers in the Auckland, CD or ND pipeline. One of the ideas that I'm pondering throughout this exploration is about young spinners who excite cricket folk and with these three teams, there doesn't appear to be an opportunity, let alone those young spinners to take such opportunities.
And that's all good. I'm attacking this from all angles and the presence of an abundance of grizzly spinners who have played more than five seasons, is positive. Remember that all the spinners in the Blackcaps mix are from these three teams and that has a obviously influence on the respective spin situations. These three teams hold the best spin talent in Aotearoa, enticing battles for each team's top spot and a lack of super funky prospects.
Peace and love 27.