ND get experienced quartet for Shield
Despite five off-season surgeries and possibly eight Black Caps defection, Northern Districts should still put out a highly competitive XI for the start of the firstclass cricket season.
Veterans Daniel Flynn and Anton Devcich are back from injury, test wicketkeeper BJ Watling will be available and vastly experienced seamer Brent Arnel has returned from Wellington.
ND coach James Pamment is still expecting to lose members of the New Zealand A side to the Black Caps for their one-day series against India in India, making them unavailable for Northern’s Plunket Shield opener versus Central Districts in Mount Maunganui starting on October 23.
‘‘We’re still a little bit in the dark until New Zealand Cricket announce who the other six are that are going to join the nine that they’ve already selected to play one-day cricket in India,’’ Pamment said on Tuesday.
ND have pace bowling allrounder Scott Kuggeleijn, legspinner Ish Soshi and wicketkeeper-batsman Tim Seifert in the A side and Pamment said he had a ‘‘gut feel is potentially all three will stay over there’’.
Already in the Black Caps squad are ND players Kane Wiliamson, Trent Boult, Tim Southee and Mitchell Santner.
’’So we’re potentially eight down - including Corey Anderson [recovering from back surgery] - moving into that first game,’’ Pamment said.
‘‘It’s a situation we’ve been into over the past few years.’’
Pamment also had five players of his Shield squad undergo surgery in the off-season, but said that quintet had all made excellent recoveries.
‘‘Daniel Flynn is back to full fitness after hip surgery,’’ Pamment said of the 32-year-old opener who has more Shield centuries for ND than any other player in the association’s history.
‘‘He’s looking really good and obviously Daniel’s a pivotal member of the team and will captain the Plunket Shield team.’’
Batsman Daryl Mitchell had shoulder surgery and while he’s unlikely to be available for rounds one and two, Pamment said Mitchell’s recovery is ahead of schedule.
Seamer Jimmy Baker had foot/ ankle surgery - ‘‘a typical bowlers’ injury, wear and tear’’ Pamment said. ‘‘He’s close to full fitness - he might be touch and go for round one but he’s impressed over the last couple of weeks.’’
Allrounder Anton Devcich is fully fit after knee surgery late last season, while batsman Nick Kelly was the other ND player to go under the knife to fix a toe problem.
‘‘Hopefully early in the season with Devcich, with Flynn, with Brownlie, with Watling, we’re going to have a little bit of experience back in the group for the first five rounds,’’ Pamment said.
‘‘Plus the addition of Brent Arnel will be a positive; he’s been great since he’s been back in the environment,’’ the coach said of the 38-year-old.
‘‘He’s somebody who you know will be able to do a job and he’ll give great support to the younger guys like Zak Gibson and Brett Randell, who at times carried a little more responsibility than their experience belied last year.’’
It’s likely Northern will get a number of national representatives in their lineup for rounds four and five of the Shield season in mid-to-late November, as part of the Black Caps’ red-ball buildup to the two-test series against the West Indies.
‘‘Apart from that, I don’t think we’ll see much of the Kanes and the Trents and the Mitchell Santners throughout the summer too much,’’ Pamment said.
‘‘BJ at the moment isn’t seen as a one-day player so potentially we might see a little more of BJ, given there’s only four test matches this year.’’
Pamment, who will coach the ND Shield and one-day Trophy teams this season, with Gareth Hopkins in charge of the Twenty20 side, is again proud of the depth of talent the association has brought through.
‘‘We keep developing young players - which is just as important as picking up trophies in the eyes of everybody at ND.
‘‘To be able to watch Seifert and Kuggeleijn get a chance with the A’s is rewarding. ‘‘We’re very confident that if the senior players can get to the level they’re capable of that we’ll be competitive in every fixture.’’