It’s been a productive opening four rounds of New Zealand’s Plunket Shield for many of our CricX clients.
Northern Districts (58 points) currently top the table with 3 wins from 4 matches, closely followed by Wellington (47), and Central Districts (43), with Canterbury (36), Otago (20), and Auckland (17).
Blackcaps’ quick Scott Kuggeleijn (22 wickets at 16.40) tops the bowling charts, with New Zealand A star Sean Solia, courtesy of his recent double ton (206) topping the batting charts (401 runs at 57.28), with Test batter Henry Nicholls (393 runs at 78.60) hot on his heels.
In terms of our clients, we take a look at our leading performers below.
Gareth Severin (Wellington) – 315 runs at 45.00
After notable scores against Central (77), and Northern Districts (40, 38), the Firebirds batter went big with a first-innings 143 against Auckland and is currently the fourth-leading Plunket Shield run-scorer this season.
Dale Phillips (Otago) – 285 runs at 35.62
Has been Otago’s key batter with scores in each of his 4 matches, including fifties against Canterbury (61), Central Districts (85), and Northern Districts (70).
Will O’Donnell (Auckland) – 233 runs at 33.28
After a pair of 36s against Canterbury in Round 3, he converted in the final round against Wellington hitting his fourth first-class century – 102, sharing a 209-run opening partnership with Sean Solia (206).
Matt Boyle (Canterbury) – 220 runs at 27.50
In the early stages of his professional career, the Canterbury charge has been a key performer from the top of the order, hitting scores of 25 (v Wellington), 48 (v Otago), 34 (v Auckland), and 54 & 41 (v Central Districts).
Zak Foulkes (Canterbury) – 201 runs at 28.71 & 15 wickets at 18.73
Has proven to be one of the most versatile players in domestic cricket – from opening up, with bat and ball, to batting in the middle order or acting as a change bowler. He has produced performance-after-performance, most notably match figures of 7-77 v Wellington, and fifties against Auckland (61), and Central Districts (44 & 50).
Sandeep Patel (Northern Districts) – 166 runs at 83
Has only played two innings for Northern Districts this summer, but has impressed. A 186-ball 145 in Round 1 against Otago, then 21 against Auckland. Has made way for the returning Bharat Popli, who topped the Plunket Shield run charts last summer.
Fraser Sheat (Canterbury) – 14 wickets at 19.57
Canterbury’s front-line quick has enjoyed a strong start to the summer and sits amongst the top 10 wicket-takers. Match figures of 6-99 (v Wellington), and 5-59 (v Otago) are the highlights, to date.
Louis Delport (Auckland) – 8 wickets at 21.62
The South African-born left-arm spinner has been a stand-out for the Aces in recent years, and after his 2 matches, has bagged 8 wickets including figures of 6-98 against Wellington.
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If your UK club is looking to recruit a Kiwi for the 2024 season, please get in touch. The players above are seeking opportunities, plus we have a number of other first-class players available.
Simply contact Steven Hirst at sjhirst@cricx.com.
