Northern Districts in CLT20 2014: well-balanced but aging team

New Zealand teams haven’t had a memorable run in the Champions League T20 (CLT20). Northern Districts, after bagging the HRV T20 cup aim for a better show than previous Kiwi teams. Abhijit Banare previews the team.

Otago Volts were the first team from New Zealand to appear in the Champions League T20 2009 – inaugural edition. Since then teams from this part have made it to the main stage only on three out the five occasions. Northern Districts will be the fourth team from New Zealand participating in this year, having won their maiden HRV T20 title earlier this year. They defeated Otago in the final. When we talk of a Kiwi side, usually there’s no shortage of all-rounders. This squad has four of them. However, their squad during the tournament back home had six all-rounders. And those two missing candidates will be a key loss to the team. Corey Anderson will be playing for his Indian Premier League (IPL) franchisee Mumbai Indians and former captain Daniel Vettori too misses out due to personal reasons.

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Key Players: Daniel Flynn, Scott Styris, Kane Williamson, and Tim Southee. Flynn was the tournament’s highest run-scorer in their successful T20 campaign. His fellow teammate Daryl Mitchell too wasn’t far behind in the highest runs scored. In such a short format, it always helps when the in-form batsman opens the innings. Flynn, in all likelihood will open the batting with Anton Devcich. Apart from Scott Styris, another reassuring figure in the line-up is Kane Williamson. The right-hander has been a key player for the national side and is a solid batsman to have in a team in any format. The veteran Styris adds strength to the lower order. Tim Southee will bring in all his experience with his fast bowling and has had a good run in these conditions in the past.

They will be opening their campaign against Sri Lanka’s Southern Express (Sep 13), followed by Lahore Lions the following day and Mumbai Indians (Sep 16).

Captain: Daniel Flynn was appointed skipper of the team across formats in the previous season and seems to have done well with a T20 title under him. For the uninitiated, Flynn is an experienced player, having featured in 24 Tests and 25 One-Day Internationals (ODI) for New Zealand starting 2008 and has been in the domestic circuit since 2005.

Strengths: Thanks to their all-rounders, this side has a good mix of necessary skills required to succeed. The Boult brothers – Jono and Trent – lend a combination of off-break and a left-arm pace, Ish Sodhi with his leg-breaks,  right-arm pacer Scott Kuggeleijn team up with Southee in the bowling attack. There’s plenty of variety in the bowling and there are some who can bat well too. Jono Boult was the leading wicket-taker in this edition of HRV T20 In the batting department. Flynn, Devcich, Mitchell, Williamson, Styris are a certainty and so is the lone keeper in the squad, BJ Watling.

Weakness: Despite having a good balance in the side, adapting to pitches here will remain the key. On flat decks here, bowlers often get demoralised after being hammered for runs early on. They key on flat tracks here is to maintain your line than experiment with variations. Eight players in the squad are close to 30 or well above 30 years of age.Age isn’t a weakness but in a fast-paced format where fielding is the key, this could make a difference.

Past record: Nothing to dwell upon. It is their maiden appearance in the tournament.

Complete coverage of Champions League T20 2014 here

(Abhijit Banare is a reporter at CricketCountry. He is an avid quizzer and loves to analyse and dig out interesting facts which allows him to learn something new every day. Apart from cricket he also likes to keep a sharp eye on Indian politics, and can be followed on Twitter and blog)