The Northern Knights will field a tag team of stellar overseas players in this season's HRV Cup. Northern Districts Chief Executive David Cooper today confirmed the signings of South African Herschelle Gibbs and Australians Brad Hodge and David Warner - making the Northern Knights the first domestic Twenty20 squad to feature three overseas stars on its roster.
The innovative move was the solution to securing exciting, world class Twenty20 talent to bolster the Knights' top order despite limitations on availability caused by the overlap between the 2010/11 Australian, South African and New Zealand domestic competitions, Cooper explained.
“Herschelle Gibbs has a commitment to the Cape Cobras, who may not complete their MTN40 campaign until December 11, the reserve day for the final of that South African competition. So, depending on their fortunes there, the earliest Herschelle could join us is for round four of the HRV Cup on December 12 - but from there he's with us right through to the final match.”
That created a window Cooper used to invite Australian senior pro Brad Hodge to kit up in pink for the opening four rounds, while the Knights were also keen to secure the services of exciting young Australian star David Warner.
Considered a limited overs specialist to date, the period of Warner's availability will depend on whether he is selected to play in Australia's four-day competition for the New South Wales Blues. If he is not required by the Blues, he will join the Knights squad for Round 3 of the HRV Cup, and will be available for the crunch end of the competition regardless.
Working through the negotiations and permutations took some time, said Cooper. “We were also looking to make sure we had players who were the right fit for the team's brand of cricket and its culture. We're thrilled that the upshot is that Northern Knights fans will have the chance to see all three of these big names of cricket in home matches during our summer.”
Cooper added it was likely Hamish Marshall would be rejoining the Knights as an overseas player after the HRV Cup, in January 2011. The former New Zealand representative's Irish passport enables him to be contracted to Gloucestershire as a domestic player in English County cricket, meaning he must play as an overseas player when he returns to his native New Zealand.
Northern Knights coach Grant Bradburn commented that the positives from having three dynamic international stars inside the Knights' Twenty20 camp outweighed any headaches it will give him as a selector pinning down a playing XI from a squad already bursting with current and recent BLACKCAPS.
“There's going to be intense competition for places, but we're all absolutely buzzing that three guys of this caliber are going to be joining us in December,” said Bradburn. “Our team is going to have the advantage of learning from three top overseas internationals instead of one.”
Although Northern Districts has clearly targeted top order batsmen, Bradburn said the fact that all three recruits are renowned for their fielding was also a “massive factor” in the decision to acquire them.
“We already pride ourselves on our fielding skills as a team, with a whole bunch of exceptional fielders of our own. It's very exciting to imagine the level of fielding skills that will be on display for the Knights team this season, when players of this calibre are added.”
Several of the Knights have previously played with or against the trio of signings and Bradburn said the squad was confident they would fit in quickly. “Even though there will be a need for us to adjust quickly as players come and go, we know that all three are quality players who are familiar with the pressures of joining new teams on short contracts. They've all starred in the IPL and I see big advantages from the sense of urgency and energy they will have and bring to the team, knowing they have only a short window in which they must perform.”
“We've done our homework on them thoroughly and we're really confident all three players will help take us forward. We're expecting this year's HRV Cup to be even more competitive than it was last year so we are conscious that we need to improve just to emulate our previous results - and of course this year we want to go further still.”
“We were planning beyond the HRV Cup itself when we looked at these overseas players, because if we win the HRV Cup this year then we'd love to be in the position to also be extremely competitive in the Champions League.”
Certainly David Warner already knows what it takes to be an international Champions League winner: he claimed the 2009 title with the New South Wales Blues.
Gibbs playing in the HRV Cup is still subject to receiving a full release from Cricket South Africa.
Herschelle Gibbs is a belligerent and vastly experienced opening batsman whose achievements for South Africa have left some notable indentations on the limited overs record books since his youthful 1996 debut. He became the first player to hit six sixes from an over in ODI cricket (2007), scored three consecutive ODI centuries (2002) and drew tantalisingly close to being the first in history to make it four with 97 not out in his next innings. He also owns the highest ODI score by anyone from any country against Australia (175 off 111 deliveries, 2006). After a lengthy test career Gibbs now focuses exclusively on limited overs formats and in recent years has been a successful Twenty20 performer for the Deccan Chargers, Glamorgan and Yorkshire.
Punchy middle order powerhouse Brad Hodge likewise is a limited overs specialist, having retired from first-class cricket last year as Victoria's leading all-time run-scorer. Hodge was the first player to score a century in Australian domestic Twenty20 cricket with 106 off 54 deliveries for Victoria against New South Wales (2006). He has played ODI, Twenty20 and Test cricket for Australia, scoring a double century, and was the most successful batsman for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the second season of the Indian Premier League.
At 23, rising star David Warner is the most youthful of the trio of signings. An explosive left-hand opening batsman, his Twenty20 and ODI International debuts for Australia last year were remarkable for the fact he was the first man since 1877 to represent the country without having played first-class cricket. He proved his worth immediately with 89 from 43 balls in his maiden Twenty20 International against South Africa at the MCG and in February this year hammered the second-fastest Twenty20 International half century (his 50 coming from just 18 deliveries) to nail an Australian eight-wicket win over West Indies. It was the second time he had scored a T20I half century in less than 20 balls while in five domestic Twenty20 matches for the New South Wales Blues his strike rate hit a phenomenal 232.87. Warner also represented Middlesex and the Delhi Daredevils in Twenty20 cricket this year, scoring a free-spirited, match-winning century for Delhi against the Kolkata Knight Riders. An ambidextrous batsman or “switch-hitter” who bats equally well right-handed, he was one of the first to use a two-sided bat developed specifically for Twenty20 cricket.
