No gambles for Watling
Black Caps test wicketkeeper BJ Watling is taking no chances on a hip injury, but is hopeful it will be just the one match he sits out for Northern Districts in the Plunket Shield before being ready for the home international summer.
The 32-year-old suffered the setback during the warmups of his side’s drawn opening-round match against the Central Stags in Mt Maunganui last week, and will miss the second-round clash against Canterbury in Rangiora, starting today.
The irritation to the hip joint didn’t seem to affect the gutsy right-hander too much, coming in at No 5 and making 77 off 94 balls in the first innings against CD, but it did see him relinquish the keeping gloves, with ND having a more than handy replacement in the form of Tim Seifert, who also stuck to his role of opening the batting.
Forced to No 7 in the second innings after not fielding, Watling still managed a brisk 30 off 33, but won’t be gambling on taking the field until he’s fully right, as he eyes up a limited Blacks Caps home test schedule of just four matches - two to open the summer against the West Indies, starting December 1, and two to close the season against England.
Watling had an MRI scan last Friday, and Northern Districts coach James Pamment said all signs were that he should be back for the next round - against Wellington in Hamilton from November 7 - depending on how he recovers this week.
‘‘We don’t envisage it’ll be too serious,’’ Pamment said. ’’I guess if it was the last game of the season he probably would have played, but given that it’s only the second game of the season, we need to be cautious.
‘‘Obviously BJ’s focus is international cricket, so he’s got to take
that long-term approach. While he’s a great contributor to us in our programme, his main focus is the first week of December when the test matches roll around.’’
With Watling out, ND have called in Henry Cooper, who scored a maiden hundred last season and earned a contract for this summer. The 24-year-old will open the batting, with Seifert dropping down to No 5 to balance the keeping load.
Dean Brownlie was an obvious candidate to partner captain Daniel Flynn at the top of the order, having opened since his move from Canterbury for the
2014/15 season because he saw a possible gap there in the test team he was previously part of. But the
33-year-old, who earned a recall to
the Black Caps’ ODI side as an opener last summer, is set to be ND’s permanent No 4 for the redball game - a decision Pamment said wasn’t based around Brownlie now eyeing a middle-order spot for New Zealand.
‘‘It’s where the team have decided that’s what his role looks like in the first five rounds. It’s something that Daniel and Dean and BJ and Anton [Devcich] have worked through. He’s happy to do it, and I’m certainly very happy to allow them to do it.’’
ND’s middle order is set to be further boosted for round three by the likely availability of Daryl Mitchell, who is recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, scored a half century in a club game on October 21 and will turn out for the ND A side against Auckland A in Parnell from Tuesday to Thursday.
Brett Hampton is back in ND’s wider squad after being loaned to an injury-ravaged Canterbury for round one. The move was seen as a win-win for both parties but while Pamment said the door was open for the all-rounder to return there at some stage, he was never going to be put in the position of playing against his mates.
Canterbury are coming off an opening-round seven wicket defeat to Otago in Christchurch, but are set to welcome back captain Andrew Ellis and batsman Ken McClure from injury, while for two games they have also brought in 25-year-old Sydney-based allrounder Daniel Sams, who is involved in the Australia’s Futures League (second XI competition below the Sheffield Shield) and is in the Sydney Sixers’ Twenty20 academy.
After getting close to victory against CD despite losing a day to rain, ND will go in with confidence, and while Canterbury are the defending champions, ND finished just two points behind them in second last season, and beat them in both meetings.