Otago relying on parttime spin of Kitchen against Wellington
OTAGO will go into today’s home Plunket Shield match against Wellington without a specialist spinner.
Leftarm wrist spinner Michael Rippon has been ruled out with an abdominal injury, while former Black Caps spinner Mark Craig continues to struggle with a back complaint which has sidelined him for most of the season.
The Volts have resisted calling in 18yearold leftarm spinner Ben Lockrose and have instead trusted parttime spinner Anaru Kitchen with the role.
‘‘He is a parttimer but selection is always pitch dependent and the assessment is that the pitch will offer a bit more to the medium pacers,’’ Otago convener of selectors Steve Martin said.
Kitchen was unavailable for the last match and his return will bolster what has proven to be a very fragile batting lineup.
Veteran toporder batsman
Brad Wilson also returns. He effectively replaces Josh Finnie, who drops out of the side having really struggled in the longer format this summer.
The 22yearold righthander has scored 130 runs in five games at an average of 13.00. He scored more than half of those runs in one knock and has eight scores of 10 or fewer.
‘‘Josh is obviously a very skilled player, so it is about learning to adapt to the longer format of the game and bat for longer periods of time. That is the workon that is in front of him.’’
Wilson’s inclusion should stiffen the batting lineup. He is a
vastly experienced player with 14 firstclass hundreds and 36 halfcenturies to his name.
The 33yearold is retiring at the end of the season and perhaps that is why he has been overlooked recently. It is unclear where the opener will bat in the order.
Hamish Rutherford and Cam Hawkins are likely to continue to open. Their partnership has obvious potential and has been one of the few highlights in some dismal batting performances.
‘‘The coach will decide [where Wilson bats] on the day . . . . but he will bat in the order to assist the players around him and use his experience. That is the very reason we brought him in.’’
In a shuffling around of the seats on the bench, Tommy Clout is replaced by Christi Viljoen in the only other change from the side which lost by an innings to Central Districts in Napier earlier this month.
Otago is firmly anchored to the bottom of the table, while Wellington is just one spot higher but with 33 more points.
The Firebirds have named an impressive lineup which belies their lowly position.
Devon Conway is the star attraction. He is comfortably the leading scorer in the competition with 646 runs at an average of 107.66. He scored 203 not out the last time he faced the Volts’ bowling lineup in a firstclass game.
Teenage opener Rachin Ravindra is one to watch for the future. The lefthander is highly regarded and has made a decent start to his firstclass career with four halfcenturies in eight games.
Former Otago pair Jimmy Neesham and Michael Bracewell boast plenty of hitting power, and former Albion club player Ollie Newton is part of a threatening pace quartet which includes the competition’s leading wickettaker in Hamish Bennett.
And unlike Otago, Wellington has spin covered. Veteran tweaker Jeetan Patel has taken more firstclass wickets against Otago than any other team during his lengthy career.
Since his debut in 2000, he has claimed 89 Otago wickets at an average of 25.68. That includes six fivewicket bags and 10 wickets in a match once.
The University of Otago Oval has been a productive venue for him, with 26 wickets at an average of 23.65.