The Captain's Blog
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Each week we go behind the scenes to find out what the captains think about up coming games, their team performance in the latest games and stand out players.
The Captains’ Blog will be updated regularly throughout the season so make sure you log on regularly to get all the latest updates and news from inside the changing rooms and out on the pitch.
Gareth Hopkins
Captain - Auckland Aces
We didn’t have a great start against Canterbury in the third round. Traditionally the QE2 pitch is ideal for batting, however we lost the toss and Canterbury put up a massive first innings totally which they defended really well.
A highlight for us was having experienced cricketer Scott Styris back in the four day side. He did well with the bat scoring a century. His experience and skills add depth to our team.
Off spinner Bhupinder Singh made his debut for us last week as well. He bowled superbly on debut and managed to get his first First Class wicket.
This week we are at home. It’s our first game at our new home ground Colin Maiden Park and we are looking forward to getting stuck in and start in a positive way so we can get some points on the board.
Kruger van Wyk
Captain -Canterbury Wizards
Unfortunately we had a draw against Auckland in the third round of the Plunket Shield. However in the first innings we scored three centuries which set up the game nicely and gave us the opportunity to set the pace in which we wanted to play.
Regarding our performance I’m very happy with how we batted and bowled. We were able to carry the momentum over from last week and everyone stepped up.
When it comes to outstanding players, I don’t want to single anyone out, however it’s been great have Chris Harris back, who at 40 did really well with the bat. His experience and knowledge made a big different. Papps and Myburgh also did really well with the bat, but everyone chipped in and it was another good team performance.
This week we take on Central Stags in Rangiora. Last time we played the Stags it was a high scoring game. They have some good players with the likes Mathew Sinclair, Jamie How and Michael Mason so it’s going to be an exciting First Class game.
Jamie How
Captain - Central Stags
It was an interesting game against Otago last week. We put ourselves under a lot of pressure in the first two days by not playing very well. Saying that in the last two days we had a dramatic turn around, playing cricket we know we can and showing some real character.
The challenge for us was coming back from behind. Otago being 370/2 on the first day and then us having to follow on in the batting wasn’t very good. But the in our second innings a number of guys contributed with the bat and we were able to post a big 500 score. Peter Ingram played well scoring 130.
We came out with the ball and bowled very well, almost giving us a change of victory.
This week we are looking at continuing on that momentum against Canterbury in Rangiora. Canterbury has been playing really well and its going to be a tough game so we will have to be at our best.
James Marshall
Captain - Northern Knights
I think we played some good cricket and some poor cricket which kept Wellington in the game. It was a good game and it swung back and forth between the two teams but it was disappoint for us to not be successful.
Wellington has always been a good four day team and we didn’t respond to the opportunities that arose during the game.
Saying that Brent Arnel and Tim Southee’s bowling was positive thing for us. They put the Wellington batsmen under a lot of pressure and came away with some good figures. With the bat BJ Watling did a great job chasing down the runs, it’s just a shame we couldn’t support him.
This week we head up to Auckland to play at Colin Maiden Park. Auckland has a very experienced batting line up so we are looking forward to the challenge.
Craig Cumming
Captain - Otago Volts
We’ve certainly improved our performance and we played well against Central Stags during the third round of the Plunket Shield. Unfortunately we ran out of time to get the final runs.
We had to score 170 off 30 overs which was a challenge in itself however we are delighted with the improvements that we have made and the face we were able to get 20 wickets. Although it was a good game we were slightly disappointed that we didn’t win the game outright.
Neil Broom did very well with the bat getting 196 while Shaun Haig got 160. Together they formed a record breaking partnership. They broke the record for scoring the most runs for a third wicket partnership for Otago. Sam Wells also did very well with the ball. He was able to back up his five wicket bag against Canterbury in round two, with another five wicket haul against Central Stags.
The toughest challenge was fielding for 220 overs in a row so by the end of the day the boys were really tired.
This week we face Wellington in Queenstown. Again this is going to be a tough game. Wellington had a great result against Northern Knights, so they will be looking at backing that up. There’s always a good battle between our two teams so we are going to continue to do what we do well in the picturesque setting.
Matthew Bell
Captain - Wellington Firebirds
We had an amazing result last week, considering the predicament we were in at the end of day two and the star of day three. We had four of our top batsmen out and still needing runs. Thankfully Luke Woodcock and Joe Austin-Smellie put on a good partnership.
Joe scored 97 on debut in the second innings, while josh Brodie and Cameron Merchant both got half centuries in the first innings. Jeetan Patel did very well with the ball and was well supported by Dwayne Bowden who got four wickets and bowled us home.
This week we are up against Otago in Queenstown. We’d like to carry on the momentum from the last two games against Auckland and Northern Districts and see if we can get some points and leap frog over Northern on the points table.
