With the summer cricket season set to begin whenever the COVID Alert Levels permit, Counties Sports Hub takes a look at the burning questions facing each Premier club this season.
Pukekohe Metro – how can they back up last season?
Pukekohe Metro swept everything before them in a season for the ages in 2020-21. They took out the Inder Lynch T20, Duthie Cup one-day and W.H Taylor Shield two-day competitions in Counties Manukau while also winning the Spark Regional competition involving teams from Hamilton and Waikato Valley.
Former Black Cap Anton Devcich takes over the coaching reins, so all looks good at Bledisloe Park right?
The issue is, how do they better the perfect season? Will their own high standards and expectations be a weight on their shoulders? It is never easy being chased, let alone defending perfection.
Weymouth – can they sustain the jump back up?
Weymouth possesses plenty of talent and many people expect them to make some waves now that they are back in the Premier fold after a number of seasons away.
They showed off plenty of their ability in finishing runner-up in the Inder Lynch T20 competition last season, when they had a cameo return to the Premier fold.
But succeeding at that level, and with so much expectation now that they are back, is much harder over a long period of time. Will they have the patience through the tough times? Can they find their feet early or will it take some time?
Weymouth will be a fun team to watch, especially if they gain early season confidence.
Karaka – can club culture translate to winning cricket?
Karaka won the Club of the Year award at the Counties Manukau Cricket Association season awards last summer in a season in which the Pukekohe Premier side won every trophy possible. Karaka’s recognition comes for a club-wide culture and performance that is the envy of every other club. They are a well run and organised operation off the park but last season they weren’t able to get the results they and others expected.
A couple of pieces of their Premier side have moved on and they’ve looked within to replace, which might be just the tonic.
There’s enough class in the likes of Varcoe, Williamson and Schofield to win trophies if they execute on the park.
Papakura – is this the year they take a step forward?
Papakura have been building for a few seasons now and, despite appearing to be getting more competitive, have not had huge improvements in the wins column. There is clearly a core of very talented young cricketers in their Premier side however and the club continues to find huge growth in numbers so the cavalry is coming. Can youngsters like the Dickson brothers and Mann really establish themselves among the competition’s best and set the tone for Papakura to match it with the best sides?
A hot start could be just what the doctor ordered and the catalyst to unlocking all of that potential.
Manukau City – can they make it count?
Manukau City were the closest team to Pukekohe last season and went very close to winning the W.H Taylor Shield as well as the Duthie Cup. The difference though was the key moments in big games – Pukekohe Metro grabbed them while Manukau City were left ruing what might have been.
The talent is clearly there to win trophies and they have genuine match-winners across their group with some talented youngsters on their way up to boot.
They welcome back talented bowling all-rounder Scott Johnston, who will make a difference and can win big moments with bat or ball, as can Sandeep Patel.
On paper this team is as good as any and they will be hurting, which makes them dangerous.
Southern Counties – can the amalgamation concept work?
Perhaps the biggest question across the entire season is whether the Waiuku, Tuakau and Mauku combined entity concept can work, while each club maintains their own identity at the same time.
The region needs it – another strong team in the southern districts and those solo clubs need the pathway for their best players if they want to remain competitive.
There is a bucket-load of talent strewn across the Waiuku and Tuakau set-ups in particular and if they can figure out the internal balance of power, Southern Counties could be a force to be reckoned with sooner rather than later.
Like Weymouth, they need to be realistic in that getting Premier status is only part of the task. Getting some early success could make a massive difference.
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