Coach happy with squad depth
The Taranaki cricket side’s depth will be tested in what could be one of two crucial Hawke Cup qualifying matches of the season when they travel to Napier to take on Hawke’s Bay this weekend.
The national under-19 tournament, injury and work commitments has taken several frontline options out of the equation for Taranaki and forced the selectors into some serious decisions for the match at Nelson Park.
The well performed Kalum Boshier with be leading the Central Districts under-19 side at Lincoln along with one-game spinner Caleb Frewin, Liam Muggeridge fractured a finger trying to take a catch against Wairarapa last week and is out while Moriz Hartmann has a work commitment.
That has seen the selectors call in Woodleigh batsman Josh Roguski, recall New Plymouth Marist United’s batsman Ryan Fleming, who scored a century in club cricket last week, New Plymouth Old Boys keeper Jackson Braddock-Pajo also returns along with team-mate and medium pace bowler Davis Mills.
A big plus is the return of allrounder Ryan Watson who carried the drinks for Central Districts last week and missed Taranaki’s comfortable innings and 132-run run with over Wairarapa that took them to the top of their zone.
However, Taranaki’s chances of getting a Hawke Cup challenge usually fall on how they perform against Hawke’s Bay and Manawatu over the qualification period and it would have been beneficial to have had some of those players available.
Despite that, Taranaki coach Debu Banik was more than comfortable with the depth they had to call on and he believed they had a well balanced side to take on Hawke’s Bay.
It’s hard to argue with him given the work at the top of the batting order with Dean Robinson in superb form, following up a century against Wanganui in their first match with a double hundred against Wairarapa, just the third Taranaki player to achieve the feat.
There have been promising signs at the bowling crease, as well, and with Watson returning Taranaki have some genuine wicket takers and variety in their attack.
Banik said that they would continue to take a positive approach to their game plan and he was confident that they could take a significant step towards topping their zone if they worked really hard each session.