2022 Domestic Cricket Contracts: Wellington Firebirds
Wellington Firebirds continue to be a fascinating pocket of Aotearoa sport as their development system is sizzling, while also trying to win cricket games. All three of Wellington's players with Blackcaps contracts have been grown in the local orchard as Michael Bracewell joins Tom Blundell and Devon Conway in demanding higher honours. Blundell is the only bloke of this trio to start his career with Wellington, but the development of Bracewell and Conway with Wellington epitomises Firebirds mana.
Finn Allen left Auckland for Wellington and is now a slugging freak. Nathan Smith left Otago for Wellington prior to last season and he finished tied-1st for Plunket Shield wickets (31w @ 18.41avg) for his best summer of Plunket Shield bowling. Now Nick Kelly joins Wellington from Otago and he was 2nd for Plunket Shield runs last season (675 runs @ 51.92avg) which seems like a nifty move considering the development blueprint laid down in recent years.
Adam Milne also joins Wellington from Central Districts to form a hostile duo with Ben Sears in the Firebirds bowling attack. The issue for Milne is his availability and he recently dropped out of the Blackcaps squad with another injury. Milne will want to push for consistent Blackcaps opportunities and Wellington's system will boost his stocks, if Milne can stay on the park.
Domestic batters are probably weary of Sears himself. Sears was Wellington's second best PS bowler behind Smith (18w @ 23.27avg) and their best Super Smash bowler (13w @ 20.23avg). Sears and Smith have the most upside for Firebirds bowlers which when combined with their development record is enticing, although Wellington will require plenty of mahi from Iain McPeake, Ollie Newton, Michael Sneddon and Dutch international Logan van Beek.
Peter Younghusband is the leading spinner and his leggies offer some spice amongst the likes of Bracewell and Rachin Ravindra. No surprises here given the development groove; Younghusband had his best Super Smash and Plunket Shield seasons last summer. The batters-who-bowl-spin wrinkle is fun and valuable to team balance, don't overlook the importance of certified spinners though.
Wellington finished 3rd in Super Smash, 3rd in Ford Trophy and 6th in Plunket Shield last summer. That's steady but not as slick as the Firebirds would like, especially in the longer format. Wellington were 2-6 in PS and such niggle is evident in 23 players being used for the Firebirds across their season. Their best PS batters also happen to be three of the funkiest youngsters in Aotearoa; Tim Robinson, Troy Johnson and Ravindra.
Kiwi cricket fans know all about Ravindra and he enters this season averaging 40.54 in First-Class cricket as an opening batter. Ravindra has plenty of development ahead of him as his batting mahi falls away with shorter formats and he averages 50+ with the ball in FC and List-A cricket.
Ravindra is a 22-year-old bloke averaging 40 in the trickiest cricketing role. Johnson is 24-years-old and he averages 50 in FC cricket as well as 40.68 in LA. Robinson is 20-years-old and after three FC games, he's scored 185 runs @ 61.66avg (1 x 100, 1 x 50) while also oozing class in Super Smash opportunities. These three may not have won many PS games last season but they were the leaders of the batting unit and their mahi can't be brushed aside when Conway didn't play a PS game, Bracewell averaged 19 and Blundell was below par with one 50+ score in 8inns.
Luke Georgeson will be eager to join those three after he initially signed to join Ireland cricket before opting to stay with Wellington. While not as productive as the other young lads, Georgeson showed flashes of his ability in Ford Trophy and his first task will be settling into the 1st 11 then joining Johnson, Robinson and Ravindra as a hearty quartet of talented young cricketers.
All of which continues to make Wellington a cricketing pocket to enjoy and learn from as there is clear evidence of player development at every level of their roster. One bloke who could have more opportunities this summer is Callum McLachlan who will sit behind Blundell in the wicket-keeping ranks.
McLachlan is another local youngster who started his FC career with three consecutive ducks before scores of 25, 40* and 56. Wellington have wicket-keeping options in Allen and Conway to cover Blundell's absence in limited overs cricket which might be better for team balance, although McLachlan should break into these teams this summer. McLachlan has Blundell and BJ Watling to learn from in the Wellington system and his development will be as intriguing as any other Firebird this season.
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