The summer of domestic cricket is over in Aotearoa and before swinging into Kiwi County Tour mode where we follow kiwis in County Championship, here are the 10 best young players from New Zealand. All these lads are 25-years-old or younger and are listed north to south. This group does not include players who have already played for Blackcaps in any format and in trying to zone in on 10 lads, there are a couple honourable mentions who deserve a salute.

Will Clark was a consistent presence in CD's Super Smash and Ford Trophy teams this season, but despite his sneaky efficient mahi in Plunket Shield, he wasn't a steady 1st 11 trooper. This puts Clark outside the top-10 and around the same zone as Canterbury's Rhys Mariu.

22-year-old Mariu averages 49 with the bat after eight games of Plunket Shield. This has seen Mariu command opportunities in a stacked Canterbury batting unit, although Mariu has only played two LA games. Mariu seems like one of the best pure batting prospects in Aotearoa and his development will be fun to track next season.

Also big ups to 24-year-old Wellington batter Nick Greenwood and 23-year-old Otago batter Thorn Parkes. Greenwood was covered as part of the Wellington Plunket Shield Championship wrap up and Parkes has been consistently solid for Otago, with his FC average of 32 jumping up to 53 in LA cricket through eight innings.

Auckland do have young talent but they weren't playing enough to put up dominant mahi. Jock McKenzie is 22-years-old and he makes cricket look freakishly easy, forecasting as a genuine all-rounder who can out-play that role with bat and ball. This yarn is highlight around 15 youngsters who deserve attention from their domestic cricket performances, meanwhile lads like Will O'Rourke, Ben Sears, Adithya Ashok, Dean Foxcroft and Josh Clarkson have all added a fresh tinge to Blackcaps squads over the last year.

Kristian Clarke - 23yrs - ND

FC: 28.6avg/3.3rpo
LA: 21.8avg/5.4rpo
T20: 30.3avg/8.5rpo

Clarke finished sixth for Plunket Shield wickets this summer and first for Ford Trophy wickets. All the footage suggests that Clarke moves the ball just enough, with a heaviness to his deliveries that challenges batters. Clarke slams down his front leg which helps the heavy vibe and also aids his doosras, disguising changes of pace. Other lads bowl faster than Clarke and others move the ball more, but Clarke snares wickets and is a top-three young seamer from this summer.

Matt Fisher - 24yrs -ND

FC: 26.5avg/3.8rpo
LA: 24.2avg/5.1rpo
T20: 36avg/9.6rpo

Fisher is probably the fastest young bowler in Aotearoa. Slippery is always the best word to describe Fisher and his development will be intriguing as he may add some power to his deliveries as his body matures, boosted by Aotearoa's effective strength and conditioning systems. The most notable nugget from Fisher's summer is his presence in ND's Plunket Shield 1st 11 where he played six of eight games and was one of 14 bowlers to take 20+ wickets this season.

Curtis Heaphy - 20yrs - CD

FC: 35.5avg/37sr
LA: 39.5avg/57sr
T20: 21.3avg/106sr

After shining in his first dose of Ford Trophy cricket his summer, Heaphy doubled-down on his production in the second stanza of Plunket Shield to finish with an average of 45 this summer. This saw Heaphy finish the season as one of CD's best batters, which is notable given that he is only 20-years-old and the CD squad is full of proven run-scorers at this level. Six of his eight 50+ scores in his career came this summer and Heaphy had a tricky job of opening the batting for CD in Plunket Shield, where his graft is most evident. Having played in all three formats this summer Heaphy has as chance to own top-order spots for CD in the next few seasons.

Nathan Smith - 25yrs - Wellington

FC: 26.6avg/48sr | 26.9avg/2.7rpo
LA: 26.4avg/94sr | 31.9avg/5.5rpo
T20: 12.8avg/127sr | 22.5avg/8.3rpo

Smith is the most Blackcaps-ready player in this group and his stint with Worcestershire in County Championship this winter could offer an exciting development bump. Smith was the leading wicket-taker in Plunket Shield and top-10 for wickets in Ford Trophy, along with a solid 14th in Super Smash. Smith showcased his batting ability throughout the formats this summer and adds value in the field. His skill with the ball is the headline here though as Smith offers swing/seam and classy control, all of which could lead to a productive season in England.

Gareth Severin - 24yrs - Wellington

FC: 47.5avg/50sr
LA: 20.4avg/62sr
T20: 23avg/106sr

Severin wasn't the best young batter in Plunket Shield and he has only found runs in the longest format, yet his quality is obvious. Severin finished second to Dale Phillips for Plunket Shield runs and in the young batter rankings as he led Wellington's championship campaign with the bat. Runs come all around the park from Severin but he also has grit, seeing off good bowling spells with patience. How Severin builds into the other formats will be exciting to track with Wellington. For now, his mana in a championship run is undeniable.

Muhammad Abbas - 20yrs - Wellington

FC: 42.3avg/52sr | 45.6avg/4.1rpo
LA: 22.8avg/76sr | 6rpo
T20: 22.8avg/126sr | 8rpo

Even though Abbas has flexed his power in a few Super Smash innings, his quality is most evident in the longer formats where he settled in Wellington's middle order. Abbas has an effortless quality to his batting and has shown the necessary patience to grind through Plunket Shield innings, with his best performances coming in the longest format. There is also the lefty-seam thing and while Abbas wasn't required to bowl much for Wellington this summer, Abbas forecasts as an all-rounder who can bat/bowl in any role.

Mitch Hay - 23yrs - Canterbury

FC: 46avg/54sr
LA: 22.7avg/74sr
T20: 19.2avg/148sr

Hay is the best young wicket-keeper/batter in Aotearoa. Having led Canterbury for Plunket Shield runs while averaging 50, Hay was also one of the best young batters in Super Smash and his batting quality is evident how he balances a high FC average with a high T20 strike-rate. Hay's wicket-keeping has been good enough to absorb the loss of Cameron Fletcher without fuss and for whatever it's worth, Hay finished second only to Dane Cleaver for Plunket Shield wicket-keeping dismissals.

Zak Foulkes - 21yrs - Canterbury

FC: 24.7avg/3.1rpo
LA: 22.6avg/4.6rpo
T20: 15.8avg/6.9rpo

Foulkes' career stats tell the story. So does being top-five for wickets in each format this summer which puts Foulkes ahead of Clarke and behind Smith as the second best young bowler from this season. Like Clarke, Foulkes slams down his front leg which helps disguise his deliveries and his action also seems to hurry batters up. Add in freaky in-swing to righties and away from lefties, which has seen Foulkes stack up numerous dismissals of Aotearoa's best domestic batters. Despite only listing his bowling stats above, don't overlook Foulkes as a batter (below 20avg in FC and LA). Foulkes covered a Plunket Shield opening slot earlier in the season and smacked winning Super Smash runs, which is evident in his 26avg/128sr T20 batting record.

Luke Georgeson - 24yrs - Otago

FC: 19avg/34sr | 36.3avg/3.4rpo
LA: 35.6avg/74sr | 23.5avg/5.4rpo
T20: 20.8avg/118sr | 15.6avg/7.8rpo

Georgeson didn't dominate domestic cricket as much as others this summer but he found a groove during the second half of the season. His mahi was led by finishing fifth for Ford Trophy wickets as Otago's best bowler and he also hit a Ford Trophy century as Otago's second best batter. This carried into the second stanza of Plunket Shield where he had a 50+ score and 5-wicket-baggy, establishing himself as a 1st 11 cricketer with Otago. Georgeson's batting always looks lovely with his lefty-strokes and his right-arm seam shook up a bunch of domestic batters.

Dale Phillips - 25yrs - Otago

FC: 39avg/53sr
LA: 25avg/81sr
T20: 16.1avg/109sr

Phillips was the best batter in Plunket Shield this summer. Not only did Phillips score the most runs, he also had the highest strike-rate of the 13 batters who scored 450+ runs and did so by a decent margin (68sr vs Nick Kelly's 61sr). Phillips was less productive in the other formats but was steady in Ford Trophy as Otago's third best batter and his ho-hum Super Smash works out well as it bucks against the perception of youngsters, or Phillips brothers specifically; Dale (and Glenn) loves to score tough, longform runs. Phillips finished the season with two centuries in his last two games and will graduate to a more senior role in the Otago line up next season which could see him flourish across all three formats.

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