Red ball, white ball, back to red ball
With the way domestic cricket is structured in New Zealand, the Wellington Firebirds feel like they’re moving into their fifth format of the year with the Plunket Shield returning.
Having started with red-ball cricket and the first five rounds of the Plunket Shield, Wellington were top of the pile on 80 points, just ahead of Central Districts.
But then they moved into whiteball cricket, firstly with the first half of the Ford Trophy, then the Twenty20 Super Smash. The Ford Trophy returned at the conclusion of the Twenty20 competition, and as that came to a climax, the whites were pulled from the wardrobe and prepared to see the light of day.
And so, despite sitting top with four wins in five matches and showing impressive form earlier this season, Bruce Edgar and the Firebirds feel like they’re heading into a brand new season with the return of the Plunket Shield.
‘‘We’re basically starting fresh,’’ Edgar said. ‘‘It’s like a new season for us. It’s certainly a big change from the white ball. We have looked forward to it, but it’s going to be much different to what it was earlier in the season.’’
For the Firebirds, the return of the red ball signals the return of Michael Papps and Jeetan Patel. Patel played in the Super Smash but skipped the Ford Trophy, while Papps didn’t play any white ball cricket this season.
Papps is the top scorer in the Plunket Shield to date with 471 runs, including his 316 not out against Auckland in October.
While Wellington are bolstered by his return to the squad, they are missing their premier strike bowler for the first game at least.
Hamish Bennett took 27 wickets in the early stages of the Plunket Shield, but has been missing since the start of January with a groin
injury. He won’t be involved against Canterbury at Hagley Oval in Christchurch, but it is hoped he will be back for the game against Otago starting March 10.
They still have Logan van Beek, however, who sits just three wickets behind his Wellington team-mate with 24 wickets, four clear of third placed Ajaz Patel of Central Districts.
Wellington come up against a Canterbury team which sits last in the Plunket Shield, but started to find their way in the white ball competitions.
They finished fourth in the Super Smash and third in the Ford Trophy, but whether they can improve on that form in the second half of the Plunket Shield is another question.
Edgar expects his team to be in fine fettle for today’s first day, with many of his players returning to club cricket and dominating with the red ball. ‘‘You’ve had [Stephen] Murdoch, Michael Papps, Tom Blundell, Devon Conway, all scoring big runs, getting big scores,’’ he said.
‘‘We’re pretty happy with where we’re at. But there is a lot of cricket to be played yet,’’ Edgar said.
‘‘We have points on the board which is good, so it’s about getting back into good habits.’’