The Pink Report
Back to The Pink ReportMomentummed Out
If there’s one word I’m sick of hearing at the moment, it’s ‘momentum’. It’s become a buzz word and I think it needs to buzz off. My beef with it is that sometimes it’s used as a euphemism for performance. If you play to your potential, your innings or team is going to get momentum by default. But if you don’t front, it’s not necessarily because you’ve suddenly lost the magic momentum - there are plenty of other factors at play. Of course, this spiel may also be a partial reflection of my general grumpiness over the back end of the Yahoo!Xtra Knights HRV Cup campaign, after so much planning and potential. The momentum of those big early wins was certainly lost (did I just say that?).
The team had set out targeting six wins to secure the final, but finished with only four, for fourth place - same as last year. It’s a result no one would have picked after the opening rounds and the TAB had the Knights installed as favourites.
Looking back, I think the washout at Mount Maunganui created an untimely break in, ah, the continuity (new word, OK?). After that, the disruptions kept mounting - rained-out practice days, player comings and goings, the 11th hour injury to David Warner and frantic attempts to get Brad Hodge back over from Australia, a nerve-wracking flight into Wellington en route to Christchurch in 170-180 kph winds and the final slight distraction of the side’s BLACKCAPS gunning for clearance to play the final round robin match in Christchurch, only to be vetoed by the national selectors shortly before the teams headed to the ground. Personally I think the players would have gained far more than they would have risked from the match practice, but the bottom line was that whoever walked on to the field needed to be ready to perform.
Learnings from the thwarted campaign? One of the big ones for the batters will be that, while Twenty20 cricket is the format for superfuelled optimism, audacity and boundary-slapping bravado, in between you’ve still got to play cricket. Things like making sure a player or two gets set in the front 10 overs to build a platform for the back 10, and - ironically for the Knights, who’ve been good at this until now - to remember to run the singles as well.
With a rare New Year’s break coming up for most of the players, they’ll recharge their batteries now and be ready to get back to business in the men’s one-day competition as the defending titleholders. And if you’re in Northland, head to Cobham Oval January 2-4 to catch the New Zealand A tour match against Pakistan. When the Knights got back to the hotel after their loss in Christchurch, there was good news waiting. Five Knights - Trent Boult, Brent Arnel, B-J Watling, Kane Williamson and Daniel Vettori, who’ll captain the side on his return to cricket, had all been picked for the New Zealand A team. As Joey Yovich reports, “We all came together as a unit then and celebrated the guys’ selection as New Zealand A players, something positive that came out of a day that was pretty tough.”
***
Annoying Stats Department
Yep, can’t come to the end of a round robin without a glance at the statistics to confirm what you really already know. But since they underscore a few bright pink spots for the team (Daniel Flynn’s makeover as an attacking, white-ball batsman and Bradley Scott’s outstanding miserliness were noteworthy), let’s look at them anyway.
HRV CUP 2010/11 - BEST STRIKE RATES (BATTING)
1 Johan van der Wath, Wizards overseas pro, 5 innings 194.59
2 Ian Butler, the Volts’ ex-Knight, 4 innings 190.69
3 Rob Quiney, Aces overseas pro, 1 innings 189.65
4 Ian Blackwell, Stags overseas pro, 6 innings 181.31
5= Brett Lee, Firebirds overseas pro, 3 innings 175.00
5= Todd Astle, Wizards, 3 innings 175.00
6 Pete McGlashan, Knights, 5 innings 171.42*
7 Daniel Flynn, Knights, 6 innings 170.66*
8 David Hussey, Knights overseas pro, 1 innings 170.00
9 Jamie How, Stags, 4 innings 165.71
10 Jesse Ryder, Firebirds, 4 innings 165.30
11 Corey Anderson, Wizards, 3 innings 164.86
12 Colin de Grandhomme, Aces, 3 innings 162.00
13 Brendon McCullum, Volts, 1 innings 161.53
14 Sam Wells, Volts, 2 innings 160.00
15 Colin Munro, Aces, 7 innings 159.83
16 Luke Wright, Firebirds, 6 innings 158.46
17 Jacob Oram, Stags, 1 innings 157.14
18 Kieran Noema-Barnett, Stags, 8 innings 153.53
19 Chris Nevin, Firebirds, 8 innings 151.28
20= Andy Ellis, Wizards, 7 innings 150.00
20= Neil Wagner, Volts, 2 innings 150.00
20= Mike Cleary, Firebirds overseas pro, 1 innings 150.00
Also:
24 Brad Hodge, Knights overseas pro, 5 innings 139.00
27 David Warner, Knights overseas pro, 2 innings 136.58
42 Joseph Yovich, Knights, 2 innings 121.05
47 Herschelle Gibbs, Knights overseas pro, 5 innings 117.07
Yahoo!Xtra Northern Knights batsmen were responsible for three of the top 10 most ballistic innings in the 2010/11 HRV Cup. Daniel Flynn’s 45 off 19 at Seddon Park against the Wizards equates to a strike rate of 236.84, while Pete McGlashan’s 66 off 31 away in Wellington and 27 off 13 against the same side at home in Hamilton carried strike rates of 212.90 and 207.69 respectively. Boo to the BLACKCAPS selectors for not letting him fire up again in the final round.
HRV CUP 2010/11 - BEST ECONOMY RATES (minimum four overs)
1 David Hussey, Knights overseas pro, 4 overs ER 3.50
2 Dirk Nannes, Wizards overseas pro, 8 overs ER 4.25
3 George Worker, Stags, 7 overs ER 5.71
4 Ian Blackwell, Stags overseas pro, 29 overs ER 5.75
5 Scott Styris, Knights, 11 overs ER 6.09
6 Mike Cleary, Firebirds overseas pro, 8 overs ER 6.12
7 Luke Woodcock, Firebirds, 24 overs ER 6.16
8 James Marshall, Knights, 5 overs ER 6.20
9 Anton Devcich, Knights, 13 overs ER 6.30
10 Andre Adams, Aces Kiwi overseas pro, 26 overs ER 6.42
11 Bradley Scott, Knights, 26.4 overs ER 6.45*
12 Mark Houghton, Firebirds, 6 overs ER 6.50
13 Michael Mason, Stags, 32.5 overs ER 6.51
14 Brad Hodge, Knights overseas pro, 14 overs ER 6.57
15 Mike Yardy, Stags overseas pro, 34 overs ER 6.76
16 Chris Nash, Volts overseas pro, 18 overs ER 7.05
17 Anaru Kitchen, Aces, 7 overs ER 7.14
18 Tim Southee, Knights, 11 overs ER 7.18
19 Nick Beard, Volts, 20 overs ER 7.25
20 Damien Wright, Firebirds overseas pro, 11.4 overs ER 7.28
21 Graeme Aldridge, Knights, 34 overs ER 7.32
Also:
26 Trent Boult, Knights, 22.3 overs ER 7.73
32 Brent Arnel, Knights, 23.3 overs ER 8.00
Joseph Yovich, Knights, 3 overs ER 8.33**
* Bradley Scott’s economy rate of 2.25 off four overs against the Aces at Mount Maunganui was the most economical performance by any player in a 2010/11 HRV Cup match. Pete McGlashan was meanwhile the best-performed wicketkeeper in the country, gloving nine dismissals in seven matches, including three in one innings against the Aces at Colin Maiden Park. **Joey Yovich didn’t get to bowl many overs in this Twenty20 season, but certainly made the most of it with one of the best bowling strike rates in the comp: two wickets from three overs for a strike rate of 9.00; only the Aces’ Kyle Mills and the Volts’ Aaron Redmond could top that. Joey must rank as one of the best arms on the boundary, too.
HRV CUP 2010/11 - MOST RUNS
1 Rob Nicol, Wizards, 9 innings 285
2 Ryan ten Doeschate, Wizards overseas pro, 9 innings 284
3 Aaron Redmond, Volts, 6 innings 249
4 Peter Fulton, Wizards, 9 innings 215
5 George Worker, Stags, 9 innings 207
6 Luke Wright, Firebirds, 6 innings 206
7 Stewart Rhodes, Firebirds, 9 innings 201
8 Brad Hodge, Knights, 5 innings 196*
9 Colin Munro, Aces, 7 innings 195
10 Brad Wilson, Knights, 8 innings 192
11 Lou Vincent, Aces, 7 innings 178
12 Jamie How, Stags, 4 innings 174
13 Jimmy Adams, Aces overseas pro, 9 innings 170
14 Ian Blackwell, Stags overseas pro, 6 innings 165
15= Jesse Ryder, Firebirds, 4 innings 162
15= Colin de Grandhomme, Aces, 9 innings 162
16 Peter Ingram, Stags, 8 innings 153
17 Kieran Noema-Barnett, Stags, 8 innings 152
18 Dean Brownlie, Wizards, 8 innings 149
19 Neal Parlane, Firebirds, 7 innings 140
20 Grant Elliott, Firebirds, 5 innings 137
21 Daniel Flynn, Knights, 6 innings 128
Also:
24 Pete McGlashan, Knights, 5 innings 108
28 Herschelle Gibbs, Knights overseas pro, 5 innings 96
31= B-J Watling, Knights, 4 innings 82
32 Anton Devcich, Knights, 6 innings 81
41 David Warner, Knights overseas pro, 2 innings 56*
* Brad Hodge and David Warner topped the HRV Cup batting averages for the round robin, all teams, averaging 65.33 and 56 respectively.
HRV CUP 2010/11 - MOST WICKETS
1 Richard Sherlock, Wizards, 9 matches 14
2 Ronald Karaitiana, Firebirds, 8 matches 13
3= Andre Adams, Aces Kiwi pro, 8 matches 12
3= Ryan ten Doeschate, Wizards overseas pro, 9 matches 12
3= Michael Mason, Stags, 9 matches 12
3= Graeme Aldridge, Knights, 9 matches 12
4= Bradley Scott, Knights, 7 matches 11
4= Luke Woodcock, Firebirds, 7 matches 11
4= Mike Yardy, Stags overseas pro, 9 matches 11
5 Ian Blackwell, Stags overseas pro, 8 matches 10
6 Jeetan Patel, Firebirds, 8 matches 9
7= Brent Arnel, Knights, 7 matches 8
7= Johan van der Wath, Wizards overseas pro, 6 matches 8
7= Doug Bracewell, Stags, 9 matches 8
8= Adam Milne, Stags, 7 matches 7
8= Andy Ellis, Wizards, 9 matches 7
9= Trent Boult, Knights, 7 matches 6
9= Chris Nash, Volts overseas pro, 7 matches 6
9= Carl Frauenstein, Wizards, 8 matches 6
10= Tim Southee, Knights, 3 matches 5
10= Harry Boam, Firebirds, 5 matches 5
10= James McMillan, Volts, 6 matches 5
10= Roneel Hira, Aces, 9 matches 5
10= Neil Wagner, Volts, 6 matches 5
Also: Brad Hodge, Knights overseas pro, 5 matches 4