2023/24 Plunket Shield: Team Breakdowns
Plunket Shield is here to usher in another Aotearoa summer and there are plenty of intriguing wrinkles across the six teams. We'll check in with the best performers over the next couple of days, but for now let's dive into each team's playing 11 for the opening fixtures...
Auckland
Finn Allen and Cameron Fletcher return to their home region after stints away. Fletcher takes over the wicket-keeping duties from the retired Ben Horne and while Auckland haven't batted yet against Central Districts, Allen is listed to bat down the order. Plunket Shield is Allen's weakest format and most of his First-Class mahi has been near the top of the batting line up so it will be interesting to see how he performs this season.
22-year-old Quinn Sunde made his debut late last summer and he earned 1st 11 selection for the first game this summer, due to bat third. Sunde registered a 50+ score in his three innings last summer and covers wicket-keeper as well but Fletcher is likely to hold that role all season. Auckland have also given 21-year-old leggy Adithya Ashok the leading spinner gig after Will Somerville's retirement but veteran Louis Delport is still in the mix and could appear at some stage.
Nothern Districts
Two Northern youngsters got a 1st 11 crack to start the season with 24-year-old Sandeep Patel and 23-year-old Ben Pomare selected in an otherwise settled ND team. Patel and Pomare have both worked their way through the ND pipeline and they made their FC debuts in the same game as ND had their depth stretched back in April 2022.
Patel is an all-rounder who appears unlikely to bowl in a strong ND bowling attack but he could be given space to cook in the top-four; Patel was due to bat third against Otago but Joe Walker got the night-watcher duties. Pomare is a wicket-keeper who will bat down the order.
Walker has been selected as the leading spinner for ND, offering support for a seam unit consisting of Neil Wagner, Scott Kuggeleijn, Kristian Clarke and Brett Hampton. Along with Patel and Pomare, the most intriguing young ND players are the K-Clarkes with all-rounder Kristian joined by funky hitter Katene.
Central Districts
The 'most settled team' salute goes to CD with a typically grizzly 1st 11. Jack Boyle is the freshest Stag in their team selected to play in Auckland and he opened alongside super-trooper Greg Hay ... followed by Brad Schmulian, Tom Bruce, Dane Cleaver, Josh Clarkson, Doug Bracewell, Brett Randell, Ajaz Patel, Blair Tickner and Raymond Toole.
Wellington
Wellington will be an enticing team to keep track of during the first stanza of Plunket Shield as their 1st 11 for the opening round skews younger. There is no shortage of talent coming out of the Wellington pipeline and this is led by fast bowler Ben Sears who has already stamped his mark on the domestic circuit with 24.85avg after 15 games. 19-year-old Muhammad Abbas had a dose of Aotearoa 'A' cricket this year having made his FC debut last summer and he is joined by 23-year-old Gareth Severin as well as 24-year-old Nick Greenwood in Wellington's top-five batting unit.
24-year-old Callum McLachlan is Wellington's wicket-keeper and they have veteran leggy Peter Younghusband as their leading spinner. James Hartshorn has a spot in the seam attack alongside Sears, Michael Snedden and all-rounder Nathan Smith. Nick Kelly leads the Wellington team and he will be a key figure over the next few weeks along with Troy Johnson who opened the batting in their game vs Canterbury.
Canterbury
While we weren't graced with Henry Shipley and Will O'Rourke in same seam attack to start this summer, Canterbury rolled out a strong team full of funk. The list of players unavailable for Canterbury was impressive as well and despite not knowing which players are lurking on the fringe of the Blackcaps World Cup squad in India (Kyle Jamieson definitely is), the likes of Ken McClure, Rhys Mariu and Sean Davey are notable absentees as well.
Michael Rae and Michael Rippon both earned selection after moving from Otago to Canterbury, with Rippon playing as the lead spinner. Dylan Hunter was selected for his first Plunket Shield appearance and anytime an Aussie moves to the kiwi cricket realms, it's a good idea to tap in. Hunter impressed in Sydney and Newcastle but wasn't given an opportunity with New South Wales which then saw him opt for the Aotearoa pathway which is made easier through his kiwi father.
Hunter played in Christchurch last summer and keen kiwi cricket folks should note the growing number of players from Aotearoa who pop up in tournaments like the Queensland T20 Max. Hunter was smacking T20 Max runs a couple months ago and along with a sprinkling of other blokes/wahine from Aotearoa, Canterbury's Zak Foulkes has also made a hearty impression from his efforts in the T20 Max.
Foulkes and Hunter are now listed to open the batting for Canterbury against Wellington. Hunter has stated his ambition to represent Aotearoa and we will continue to learn more about his abilities, while Foulkes continues to intrigue. 21-year-old Foulkes is currently averaging under 27 in all formats with the ball having made his debut in 2022 and along with this epic knock in the T20 Max, he is now set to play a considerable batting role for Canterbury.
Otago
The youngest group seems to be Otago, who keep making nifty additions to their roster. 24-year-old Luke Georgeson moved south from Wellington and was selected to open the batting against ND, while there was also the sneaky move of 19-year-old Jamal Tood who left Auckland for Otago. Todd batted in the middle-order for Otago and he joins players like Dean Foxcroft, Dale Phillips, Thorn Parkes and Jarrod McKay in moving to Otago for greater opportunities.
There is a clear trend of Otago recruiting talent from other regions, although this is balanced out by Otago producing talent from their own pipeline. Jacob Cumming is opening the batting alongside Georgeson and Ben Lockrose is now Otago's leading spinner, offering a fabulous all-round skillset that should see him consistently selected in all three formats. Along with hearty Otago troopers like Jacob Duffy and Max Chu, Otago are quietly building a development system that their community should be proud of.
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