Club cricket season starting
WAYNE MARTIN
Last updated 13:00 10/10/2013
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A new club format and some temperamental spring weather herald the start of Nelson's new club cricket season on Saturday.
There's no Kelvin Scoble Trophy one-day competition this season and the Twenty-20 series will be played on Thursday evenings. Otherwise, there's a familiar look to most of Nelson's six club sides as they approach Saturday's opening round of the Car Company two-day competition.
Not much has changed for defending two-day champions Waimea Toi Toi United this season, although Greg Hay's Central Districts contract means the club isn't likely to see much of him as the season progresses.
Hay was last season's leading club runscorer, finishing with 1005 runs and an astonishing 100.5 average, with the club also boasting the leading wicket-taker in Jon Routhan with 43. Routhan's back and Hay's still been included in the squad as Ricky Edwards, Steve Binnie, Tom Ingham and Mason Thelin contemplate assuming more responsibility with the bat.
Routhan will again have new skipper Cade Armstrong, brothers Sam and Andy Baxendine and left arm spinner Dan Wightman alongside him in another formidable bowling attack. Craig Ingham is the new non-playing coach.
Car Company Stoke-Nayland are also similar in appearance to last season's side, although without big seam bowler Dylan Eginton, who is playing his club cricket in Wellington this season.
The batting will again revolve around skipper Ryan Edwards, Ian Coles, Ben Homan and Brendan Hodgson, with Marty King, Darius Skeaping, Mitchell Ross, Josh Sansom and Hodgson again forming another strong bowling attack.
However, Skeaping will make a measured start to the campaign following his recuperation from a bulging disc injury.
Stoke-Nayland were involved in all four club finals last season, winning both the Twenty-20 and Kelvin Scoble Trophy titles and losing the Nelson two-day and one-day deciders.
Sprig and Fern Motueka have lost one of their leading bowlers, Dan Rae, to Wellington, while left-arm seamer Andy Beatson will miss the two-day series with a hip injury.
They have two Englishmen on board. Martin Stretch is a 27-year-old allrounder from the Fiskerton CC in Nottingham, who represented Nottinghamshire for four years, and Sam Brittain is a 24-year-old left hand batsman from Halifax who played for the Northowram Fields CC in the central Yorkshire league.
Right-arm bowler Liam Baird is back after a season off, and allrounder Corey Pascoe has transferred from Wakatu.
Experienced batsmen Kurt Pahl, Duncan Cederman, Bryan Krammer and John Ogilvie have returned, although Krammer will miss the first two two-dayers. Craig Hampton will captain the side.
Post Boy Hotel Wakatu, captained by Campbell McLean, have representative allrounder Shane Laurence back in the side after only limited involvement last season.
McLean, Mason Robinson, Giles Black and Matt Macquet will again anchor the batting with support from ex-Waimea College player Daniel Hooper, Richie Wilkinson and Dustin Emms-Healey.
There's another Dan Hooper in the side, Saxton Oval's head groundsman, who joins a solid core of allrounders. Jay Wright, Scott van der Colk and offspinner Bryce Goodall round out the bowling attack.
Athletic College Old Boys have suffered one of the more significant player losses following allrounder BJ Barnett's decision to play club cricket in Wellington. Dutch international bowler Paul van Meekeren also isn't returning this season, although batsman Ben Gully has returned from Christchurch.
Talented youngsters Joel Harden, Josh Clarkson and Daniel Grimes are all back and looking to continue the form that saw them selected for the Central Districts under-17s. Experienced allrounders Marty Kain, Greg Chitty and Luke Toynbee assume key roles and representative batsman Simon McGowan takes over the captaincy from Toynbee.
Taylors Contracting Wanderers' biggest initial concern will be getting another potentially strong squad on the park at the same time.
Captain and opening batsman Dan Cooper will miss Saturday's scheduled start as he returns from his off-season in England. Representative pace bowler Joe O'Connor has Central Districts commitments for most of October, while international age-group allrounder Connor Neynens has been tentatively included pending university commitments.
A significant gain is former New Zealand under-19 left-hand batsman Pete Carey, now aged 28, who is returning to the game after three seasons off. Carey was formerly a Hawke Cup player for Canterbury Country.
Englishman Jack White has also returned as part of a menacing bowling attack alongside promising young Adam Leonard, Brodie Hanna, Dean Hawley, Hayden Ingham, Tom Bloomberg and brothers Tim and Greg Field.
In tomorrow's scheduled first day of the opening two-day round, Stoke-Nayland host WTTU at the Marsden Rec, Wanderers are at home to ACOB at Brightwater and Wakatu play hosts to Motueka at Ngawhatu.
CLUB SQUADS
ATHLETIC COLLEGE OLD BOYS: Simon McGowan (captain), Greg Chitty, Ben Gully, Joel Harden, Josh Clarkson, Daniel Grimes, Marty Kain, Luke Toynbee, Matt Cross, Glen Baumfield (players to be added).
MOTUEKA: Craig Hampton (captain), Kurt Pahl, Duncan Cederman, Dylan Phillips, Liam Rowling, Bryan Krammer, Levi Kearns, Chris Bayard, Karl Mytton, Martin Stretch, Sam Brittain, Corey Pascoe, John Ogilvie, Liam Baird, Andrew Beatson, Jorden LeLong.
STOKE-NAYLAND: Ryan Edwards (captain), Ian Coles, Ben Homan, Brendan Hodgson, Darius Skeaping, Marty King, Josh Sansom, Mitchell Ross, Gus Riley, Maurice Taylor, Kendall Hodson, Brent O'Hagan.
WAIMEA TOI TOI UNITED: Cade Armstrong (captain), Steve Binnie, Tom Ingham, Jon Routhan, Ricky Edwards, Greg Hay, Dan Wightman, Sam Baxendine, Andy Baxendine, Sam Field, Hamish Drummond, Mason Thelin, Symon Carr, Blair Carpenter.
WAKATU: Campbell McLean (captain), Mason Robinson, Matt Macquet, Shane Laurence, Dan Hooper, Giles Black, Daniel Hooper, Dustin Emms-Healey, Richie Wilkinson, Jay Wright, Bryce Goodall, Scott van der Colk.
WANDERERS: Dan Cooper (captain), Pete Carey, Adam Leonard, Jack White, Brodie Hanna, Dean Hawley, Hayden Ingham, Joe O'Connor, David Leonard, Andy Leonard, Kyle Paki Paki, Tom Bloomberg, Tim Field, Greg Field, Connor Neynens, Jimmy van der Colk, Connor Goodman, Nathan Geddes.
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