*Official* New Zealand Domestic Cricket Season 2012/2013

[SteveNZ]

Whatever happened to Greg Morgan? He was the third highly touted player (Well 4th with Corey Anderson) from the age group team that included Southee and Boult

He's gone backwards since scoring 80 on FC debut and being a very dependable death option for the Aces in T20. Mixture of injury (back surgery a year or so ago) and some questionable decisions to which way he wanted to form his game. Has gone from a hard-hitting middle order batsman with slippery pace and an outswinger to a gun barrel straight bowler with slightly less pace and a much less dangerous batsman, albeit technically better. If he's ever going to get in the Auckland set-up again it'll be as a four-day batsman who bowls a bit.

Ajaz Patel is a slow left-arm orthodox, incidentally. Don't know DOB. Used to bowl left-arm swing and changed. Quite a decent T20/limited overs bowler.

[Kippax]

Lou Vincent, Champions League - YouTube

Those stats very much paint a picture of a bowler, generally he batted 8-9 in those games.

Yet for the national team, he was batting top 6 and bowled less than Horne: Cricket Records | Records | Quadrangular Under-19 Series (Australia), 2012 - New Zealand Under-19s | Batting and bowling averages | ESPN Cricinfo

Found this just now when I was setting up an Ish Sodhi google alert for the season.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times...day-play-opens

His non-return has created a leadership vacancy and the club has appointed Nick Kelly, 19, to the role. Kelly, a middle-order batsman and left-arm spinner, toured Australia with the NZ Under 19s earlier this year.

Nick Kelly, April 2012 - YouTube

Shouldn't really bat No. 9 anywhere in NZ, even if he played Plunket. Presume Counties said "this is nasty weekend warriors cricket, he's too young, play him down the order".

[Cricket CoachDB]

Lou Vincent, Champions League - YouTube



Found this just now when I was setting up an Ish Sodhi google alert for the season.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times...day-play-opens



Nick Kelly, April 2012 - YouTube

Shouldn't really bat No. 9 anywhere in NZ, even if he played Plunket. Presume Counties said "this is nasty weekend warriors cricket, he's too young, play him down the order".

More gold!

On Kelly, whilst it doesn't really explain why he batted so low at U18 level, I'd say he looks to have some talent. Very quick feet and a bit of panache. Looks like a bit of a nut, too! Maybe this is why he's been made skipper.

All told I'll make him a No.6 with batting his strong suit (good off his legs, not bad through the covers either). I think his spin will evolve into that kind of semi-all-rounder type, even if it was once his main strength.

So it's settled, then: he's KP

[Cricket CoachDB]

Hmm, just spotted that Kelly was not out in all four of his ND U18 knocks, coming in late. Maybe they just didn't realise he could bat?

[Howsie]

Hmm, just spotted that Kelly was not out in all four of his ND U18 knocks, coming in late. Maybe they just didn't realise he could bat?

That was almost two years ago now though tbf, a lot can change for a cricketer at 17/18. Take Tamati Clarke a few years ago (another CM player). Opening left arm quick for ND Under 17's batting 10/11, fast forward one year and he's in the NZ under 19 team as a middle order bat bowling some left arm spin.

[Cricket CoachDB]

Hence my KP comment-he was a SLA bowler and lower-order bat as a kid, y'know.

What may be of interest to Wellington fans is that Michael Vaughan thinks that Chris Woakes will eventually be a better batsman that he is a bowler. And he's a bloody good bowler.

[Prince EWS]

More gold!

On Kelly, whilst it doesn't really explain why he batted so low at U18 level, I'd say he looks to have some talent. Very quick feet and a bit of panache. Looks like a bit of a nut, too! Maybe this is why he's been made skipper.

All told I'll make him a No.6 with batting his strong suit (good off his legs, not bad through the covers either). I think his spin will evolve into that kind of semi-all-rounder type, even if it was once his main strength.

So it's settled, then: he's KP

Probably more Aaron O'Brien than KP in reality.

[Athlai]

Hence my KP comment-he was a SLA bowler and lower-order bat as a kid, y'know.

What may be of interest to Wellington fans is that Michael Vaughan thinks that Chris Woakes will eventually be a better batsman that he is a bowler. And he's a bloody good bowler.

Woakes signing up the Franklin school of "becoming **** at bowling" is he?

[Prince EWS]

What may be of interest to Wellington fans is that Michael Vaughan thinks that Chris Woakes will eventually be a better batsman that he is a bowler. And he's a bloody good bowler.

That's been said about him by lots of people ever since he was a kid; I think it's as much about people not really rating his bowling as highly as his performances dictate as it actually about his batting though. The fact that he's come into county cricket and immediately become an almost unparalleled opening bowler at that level across his career has been quite a surprise, even to those who rated him as the next big thing.

His batting has always been perceived to have more natural talent about it; Nick Knight went on record to say that he was the second best young batsman he'd ever seen come out of Warwickshire after Ian Bell, and that the gap wasn't very large.

[HeathDavisSpeed]

What may be of interest to Wellington fans is that Michael Vaughan thinks that Chris Woakes will eventually be a better batsman that he is a bowler. And he's a bloody good bowler.

Not really of interest as I value Michael Vaughan's opinion about as highly as I value the opinion of Athlai's current crab infestation.

[Kippax]

Might venture on some season-opening XIs...

Brodie vs. How
Papps vs. Raval
Murdoch vs. Cachopa
Ryder vs. Sinclair
Elliott vs. Noema-Barnett
Woodcock vs. Young
Ronchi/Papps vs. van Wyk
Boam/Friday/Hutchinson/Gillespie vs. Bracewell
Jeets vs. Nethula
Kuggs vs. Small
McKay vs. Wheeler/Mathieson/Badenhorst

I'd be hopeful Jeets can make his a 10-8 round tbf.

[Cricket CoachDB]

That's been said about him by lots of people ever since he was a kid; I think it's as much about people not really rating his bowling as highly as his performances dictate as it actually about his batting though. The fact that he's come into county cricket and immediately become an almost unparalleled opening bowler at that level across his career has been quite a surprise, even to those who rated him as the next big thing.

His batting has always been perceived to have more natural talent about it; Nick Knight went on record to say that he was the second best young batsman he'd ever seen come out of Warwickshire after Ian Bell, and that the gap wasn't very large.

Yes, Vaughan for one doesn't seem to particularly rate his bowling. I've heard many TMS comments about how he "lacks the pace to trouble international batsmen". Which is utter hogwash IMO: sure he's suited to swinging it in English conditions, but he's a genuine RFM-and smart. His 6/45 versus the Aussies was ample evidence of that. If anything may hold his bowling back, it's the persistent injuries he's had.

His batting came later in terms of results-he was very much a number 8/9 early on, but has always played with freedom and belief. He's undergoing something of an Emburey-like rise through the batting order, and he would be a top 6 at most Counties by now (we have a stupidly deep order at Warwickshire). I don't think he'll ever be a genuine Test class batsman, but he is already superior to Bresnan, Broad and co, and would do great at 7 with someone like Prior ahead of him. Then we might be able to talk about a truly balanced England team for the first time post-Flintoff, especially on the Subcontinent. I'd have him on the tour of India now for that reason.

As a lifelong Bear, I am of course massively biased

[Cricket CoachDB]

And very happy about this, too: http://www.birminghammail.net/birmin...319-32048219/?

[Cricket CoachDB]

Might venture on some season-opening XIs...

Brodie vs. How
Papps vs. Raval
Murdoch vs. Cachopa
Ryder vs. Sinclair
Elliott vs. Noema-Barnett
Woodcock vs. Young
Ronchi/Papps vs. van Wyk
Boam/Friday/Hutchinson/Gillespie vs. Bracewell
Jeets vs. Nethula
Kuggs vs. Small
McKay vs. Wheeler/Mathieson/Badenhorst

I'd be hopeful Jeets can make his a 10-8 round tbf.

I'd forgotten about Dane Hutchinson. Some pretty impressive Grade statistics last season that make you wonder if he wouldn't have deserved a Futures chance: http://mycricket.cricket.com.au/comm...entityid=12832

It'll be interesting to see how he goes: although I think he'll be behind Kuggeleijn, if Gillespie isn't back, I think he'll start ahead of Friday.

[Kippax]

Worker vs. Rutherford
Fulton vs. Redmond
Stewart vs. Bracewell
Brownlie vs. N Broom
Nicholls vs. D Broom?
U19's Davidson? vs. Wells
B Cachopa vs. de Boorder
Astle vs. Beard
van Beek vs. Neesham/Duffy
Bennett/McCone vs. Butler
Lonsdale vs. Wagner

http://tvnz.co.nz/cricket-news/hamis...-video-5106180

Boy, Cantabs. Was Jarvis available to mitigate the ****ness of another heavily depleted side?