Ahead of the upcoming season, Northern Districts have changed their leadership group.
Dean Brownlie will captain the team for the McDonald’s Super Smash and the Ford Trophy. Daniel Flynn is stepping aside to concentrate on his batting, but will still lead the Knights during the Plunket Shield.
Northern Districts coach James Pamment said Brownlie will bring extensive experience and leadership to the role.
“It’s about sharing more leadership amongst our senior players and tapping into Dean’s experience. It was very clear he has got something good to offer us from his manner, how he interacts with players, his knowledge and leadership qualities.”
Brownlie has represented New Zealand 29 times, across all three formats of the game. The right handed batsman doesn’t believe there will be any major changes from the way Daniel Flynn led the team.
“We (Pamment and I) have a good relationship and we see the game in pretty similar ways in how it should be played. I won’t be doing too much different to Flynny, continuing on the same direction with my own little spin on things.”
Last season, Northern produced a potential star of the future in the name of Bharat Popli. Popli was the standout batsman in last season’s Plunket Shield, finishing as the tournament’s top scorer with 1149 runs.
When asked about mentoring other young players coming into the team, Brownlie stated, “As well as drawing on my own previous experiences, we have a few good leaders in the team that has had a taste of success and low points – I will be using them to help out in any way we can.”
Brownlie will captain the Knights for the first time against the Wellington Firebirds during the McDonald’s Super Smash at Seddon Park, on Sunday December 4th.
Northern will be looking to improve on last season’s performances, where they finished fourth in the Plunket Shield, and fifth in both the Ford Trophy and the McDonald’s Super Smash.
With the Plunket Shield just around the corner, all the provinces are finishing their preparations ahead of the summer. The season gets underway on the 22nd of October, with Central Districts taking on Otago, Canterbury hosting Northern Districts, and Wellington playing Auckland.
