2021/22 Plunket Shield: Henry Cooper and Brett Randell Sizzle for ND, Max Chu brews for Otago
Northern Districts wrapped up the Plunket Shield's first stanza with a hefty win over Otago and Aotearoa cricket now moves into a limited overs extravaganza. Super Smash starts tonight for the blokes and wahine, then as the Super Smash rolls along we have Ford Trophy games sprinkled in each week. Let's park up with the Plunket Shield though and break down what we down in Alexandra between ND and Otago.
Otago batted first and put up 342 thanks to 103* from Max Chu as well as 57 from Nick Kelly and 50 from Jake Gibson. Brett Randell took 5 wickets to lead the ND attack before he chimed in with 50 as nightwatchman batting up the order as Jeet Raval (89) and Bharat Popli (86) played supporting roles to Henry Cooper's big ol’ 200. Michael Rippon took 5w for Otago as ND finished up on 553/9 and dismissed Otago for 137 on the final day to seal the win - Dale Phillips did his best to cling on to a result with 68*.
It's been a weird start to the summer for Otago. They are 2nd in the Plunket Shield and have Kelly leading all run-scorers, while Hamish Rutherford is 3rd. Otago also have no bowler averaging under 30 and this includes fringe Blackcaps seamer Jacob Duffy churning out 7w @ 49.42avg. Rippon's 5 wickets vs ND solidify his standing as the best spinner in the first stanza and he's the only bowler with 10+ wickets while averaging over 35.
Chu's century is the first of his First-Class career and his four games so far this season form the best FC season of his career (since 2019/19). As Chu hit his first 50+ score in FC cricket earlier this year, Chu has found a nice groove with scores of 53, 94 and 103* in his last eight Plunket Shield games. Chu wasn't much of a batting factor at the 2017/19 Under 19 World Cup with 52 runs @ 17.33avg in 3inns and the start of his domestic cricket was similar as he was eased into domestic cricket batting down the order without much responsibility.
That's all changed for 2021 and there is a solid trend with Otago's batters churning out big runs, or making steady progress. Kelly, Phillips and Mitch Renwick have all improved in each season since moving to Otago and Chu has showcased his development as a homegrown junior.
Raval averaged 40+ for six consecutive seasons between 2011-2017 and after averaging 45.58 in last summer's Plunket Shield, Raval has started this season in similar fashion. This isn't about Raval making a comeback, this is about Raval dropping out of the Blackcaps and staying solid to his quality in domestic cricket.
While Raval was averaging 45 last season, Henry Cooper fell off his stack of runs from previous campaigns. Cooper caught my attention with plenty of runs prior to last season (40.90avg, 36.23avg, 49.90avg ) and Cooper wasn't as productive last summer despite being solid with four 50+ scores and 26.62avg. Cooper didn't put up a big score against Canterbury but his 200 vs Otago is a reminder that Cooper and Joe Carter are two of the young batsmen on the rise in Aotearoa.
Brett Randell and Zak Gibson have been sizzling with the ball in this two-game stint for ND. Gibson has taken 3w, 3w, 2w and 3w, while Randell has 4w, 3w, 5w and 2w to start the season. This takes Randell to 14w @ 12avg and Gibson to 11w @ 19.54avg. Moving into SS and FT, Randell is the bloke to watch out for as he averages below 30 in all formats and any movement with the white ball will be hard to deal with; Randell's making nibble look easy in his two games so far.
This sets up an enticing wrinkle to SS and FT as everyone trips over ND's Blackcaps. Whether it's Cooper and Carter with the ball, or Randell and Gibson, maybe spinner Joe Walker; ND have a decent crop of young cricketers who have done the bulk of the mahi to start this season. How this plays out in the limited overs formats will provide another insight into ND's growing sprouts.
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