Previewing the Champions League T20: Central Districts
New Zealand will be represented by Central Districts in the Champions League T20 this year, which starts on September 10. Central Districts did not play in last year’s Champions League T20.
How they got there:
Central Districts qualified for the Champions League T20 by winning the HRV Cup – the domestic T20 competition played in New Zealand. The HRV Cup consisted of six teams in the tournament, and each side had to play the others twice – in a home and away format. This meant that each side played ten games, and at the end of the ten games, the top two sides featured in the final.
Central Districts ended the league stage with seven wins from their ten games, which was one more than Auckland managed. Both qualified for the final by the virtue of finishing 1-2, and faced off each other in New Plymouth.
It proved to be a damp squib, as Central Districts batted first, and had their best player and international, Ross Taylor, take the game away from the opposition with some raw power. He made 80 off only 30 balls, and in conjunction with Peter Ingram took the score to 206/6 in the 20 overs. Faced with such a huge total to chase in a pressure final like this, Auckland failed to rise to the occasion and crashed to 128 all out.
Unfortunately for the Central Districts, they will be missing the services of Taylor for the tournament because he will be playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Strengths:
Central Districts are one of the unknown quantities of the tournament. Much like the other team from New Zealand, the Otago Volts, who qualified for the tournament in the previous edition, not much is known about them, and that could very well work in their favour. Especially given that the tournament will also allow each side to play four games in the first round.
Weaknesses:
The absence of Taylor will be a big blow to the chances of the side, as they have a relatively younger and inexperienced side otherwise. What would have served as a bigger blow to them would have been the withdrawal of Jacob Oram from the tournament due to the knee injury he suffered in Sri Lanka, which leaves them without arguably the best all-rounder of the tournament.
Players to watch out for:
In the absence of Taylor and Oram, captain Jamie How needs to reformulate his strategy for the tournament. Apart from How, the Central Districts will also depend on Peter Ingram and Brendon Diamanti to try and exploit the conditions in South Africa – where there will be bounce but the ball will come onto the bat as well. 19-year-old Doug Bracewell comes from a family of cricketers and it will be interesting to see him perform on this stage.
Central’s fixtures:
Central plays Chennai on September 11, Victoria on September 15, Warriors on September 18, and Wayamba on September 22.