Paceman Napier returning to boost Firebirds
ANOTHER familiar imported face is returning to the Firebirds.
Australians Shaun Tait and Travis Birt have already been recruited for a second tilt at the domestic Twenty20 title in Wellington colours, with English fast bowler Graham Napier now the latest to sign up again.
A Firebird back in the 2007/08 and 2008/09 seasons, Napier will arrive before Christmas and will play Wellington’s last six roundrobin games, beginning on December 27 against Canterbury at the Basin Reserve.
Tait and Birt have been signed for this month’s four-game block, and Wellington’s director of cricket, Robbie Kerr, has not ruled out bringing in an overseas batsman to augment Napier for the December and January matches.
For now, though, Kerr was content to crow about the capture of the 33-year-old Napier, who is a proven winner at this level with Central Districts, bowls a heavy ball and won’t add any angst to the team culture. ‘‘He’s well-known in the UK for his ability to bowl yorkers, whether that be at the start of an innings or certainly at the end of an innings.
‘‘While he might not have the consistency of a top-order batsman, when he scores runs it often has a big impact on a game because he hits a long ball and he’s also regarded as a great team man,’’ Kerr said.
Twenty20 cricket tends to revolve around batsmen belting balls over the boundary but Tait’s two-game stint with the Firebirds last summer showed that bowlers could dominate too.
Tait put the frighteners up more than a few batsmen but his subsequent replacements were all of the batting variety.
This time round, Wellington have recognised the need to have another quality quick bowler to follow Tait’s lead and while Napier is not express, he is definitely lively and canny.
‘‘We think those overs at the start and end of an innings are particularly difficult for bowlers and you need an expert, and Napier’s a guy that can come in and fulfil that role,’’ said Kerr.
Napier is coming off a useful domestic season for his county team, Essex.
He took more than 50 wickets in the four-day championship and performed well in limited-overs’ cricket too.