How Wellington Became 2023/24 Plunket Shield Champions
Wellington are Plunket Shield champions and their championship campaign features the best young cricketers in Aotearoa. The kinda-final with Northern Districts finished as a draw thanks to rain on days three and four, but Wellington had enough points in the bag to finish on top. There were two Wellington vs ND games this season and both were drawn so salute to ND for their mahi this season.
Wellington and ND were the only teams to have four wins in the eight games. The value of draws is evident in how the only difference between these two teams was that Wellington had four draws and ND had one loss with three draws. This has plagued Blackcaps Test cricket as they don't draw Tests these days and when stacking up longform games in the context of a points table, every result and point matters.
Plunket Shield teams don't play each other twice as there are five teams and eight games. Wellington played Otago and Auckland once each with a win over Otago and a draw with Auckland. Wellington had a win and a draw with Central Districts. Two wins over Canterbury means Wellington were responsible for two of the three losses suffered by Canterbury, which were dished up in different conditions; October and February, in Wellington and Rangiora.
These two wins over Canterbury serve as funky junctures in assessing Wellington's cricket. First and foremost, here is what Nathan Smith did in these two games...
In Wellington
49 runs @ 65sr, 3w @ 2.5rpo, 14 runs @ 93sr, 3w @ 2.7rpo
In Rangiora
1w @ 3.5rpo, 4 runs @ 30sr, 6w @ 2.4rpo, 75* @ 59sr
The win in Rangiora was especially impressive given that Canterbury put up 526 runs in the first innings. Wellington then scored 308 runs and Smith took 6w in dismissing Canterbury for 109 to set up a competitive run chase of 328. Smith finished not-out alongside Muhammad Abbas (110*) to seal the win and helped Smith gather two hauls of 5+ wickets along with two 50+ scores this summer.
Smith finished as the leading wicket-taker in Plunket Shield, one of three lads to take 30+ wickets. The 25-year-old now has a First-Class bowling average of 26.94 and that's matched by a batting average of 26.64. Smith is joined by 24-year-old Gareth Severin in leading Wellington's runs and wickets after Severin finished second for Plunket Shield runs, a few runs behind Otago's Dale Phillips as the only two lads with 650+ runs.
Severin exits a championship season averaging 47.55 in FC batting. He was the only Wellington batter with two centuries and wasn't dismissed for a duck in 14 innings. Severin's best format is Plunket Shield and while Smith is pretty solid across all three formats, FC cricket is where he combines his best batting and bowling. This theme of youngsters embracing Plunket Shield is also evident in 20-year-old Abbas.
Abbas wasn't a dominant force in Plunket Shield, but he played his role and along with young lads thriving in the longest format, there is something admirable in how these youngsters epitomise kiwi cricket. Abbas was third for Wellington runs and averaged 45, but he only had one century and a 50+ score in his 11 innings. That century was a game-winner and it came in a second stanza in which Abbas scored 20+ runs in all six innings.
Now averaging 42.34 in FC cricket, Abbas flashed his bowling potential with an efficient 3w @ 23avg/3.5rpo. Like the 20+ score marker, these aren't headline grabbing nuggets but Abbas only bowled 19.3 overs and he offers aesthetic lefty-swing. Abbas has already generated buzz as one of the best prospects in Aotearoa and now he has played a role in Wellington's Plunket Shield championship.
The youngsters offer the most intrigue for kiwi cricket fans. Senior troopers offer consistent winning mahi and Wellington were well served by Nick Kelly and Peter Younghusband, while Logan van Beek, Michael Bracewell and Tom Blundell returned for second stanza duties.
Kelly was Wellington's second best batter, finishing fourth for Plunket Shield runs and one of five lads to score 600+ runs. Younghusband finished fifth for wickets and takes the best spinner in Plunket Shield salute, snaring 2+ wickets in five of his six innings bowled through the second stanza.
Smith and Abbas showcased their all-round abilities, so did Younghusband and van Beek. Younghusband had a 50+ score and averaged 21 with the bat this season, while van Beek had a higher batting average than his bowling average. Van Beek hit two 50+ scores in five innings and his three not-outs helped him average 80.5, which flips to a solid 10w @ 40avg with the ball.
Bracewell snuck into the 1st 11 for two games and played a crucial role in Wellington's win over Otago. Wellington rolled Otago for 99 to snatch their last win of the season and Bracewell took 8w in 11.4ov. Bracewell averaged 19.9 with the ball and 30 with the bat, after an impressive cameo in Super Smash where he had a batting record of 30avg/167sr and bowling record of 28avg/8.1rpo.
Blundell's century in the draw with ND came after averaging 9.8 in six Tests for Aotearoa this summer. At least Blundell found runs for Wellington as his century in two Plunket Shield innings is bolstered by 71 runs @ 182sr in his one Super Smash appearance.
Any championship campaign requires undercover performances with Tim Robinson and Nick Greenwood providing the most intrigue. 21-year-old Robinson hit three of his four FC 50+ scores this season and while he has impressed in Super Smash (26avg/146sr), Robinson hadn't established himself as a certified 1st 11 Firebird in Plunket Shield.
Robinson played six games in a championship run and while his average of 24.6 may not command buzz, he is learning how to blend his aggressive style with longform cricket. Robinson was often opening alongside 24-year-old Jersey international Greenwood who played every game and had four 50+ scores; his first four 50+ scores of his FC career.
Wellington are Plunket Shield champions and Rachin Ravindra didn't play a game, neither did Devon Conway. The best young cricketer from Aotearoa didn't play and yet Wellington rolled out Smith, Severin and Abbas who are on the rise. Along with Conway's absence, Wellington were missing classy top-order batters which was absorbed by Severin's runs along with the development of Robinson and Greenwood.
There is a similar vibe in how Ben Sears earned a Test debut without being a destructive force for Wellington. Sears was only in the mix because two x-factor seamers got injured and another one retired so he is still in the fringe mixer, plus his 9w @ 44avg this summer isn't aligned with his FC career record of 28.19avg.
Also quirky: Sears hasn't been dismissed in six of his last seven innings.
Along with Sears' solid but not dominant mahi, Bracewell and Blundell played two games each. Van Beek played half the games as well, with no appearances from Ravindra and Conway. Given how previous Plunket Shield (2019/20), Ford Trophy (2018/19) and Super Smash (2016/17, 2019/20, 2020/21) success propelled a new wave of cricketers into Blackcaps squads, this Plunket Shield championship may forecast the next wave.
Wellington Plunket Shield Stats
Batting
Gareth Severin: 657runs @ 46avg/50sr
Nick Kelly: 605 runs @ 46avg/61sr
Muhammad Abbas: 450 runs @ 45avg/50sr
Nick Greenwood: 388 runs @ 27avg/64sr
Tim Robinson: 246 runs @ 24avg/60sr
Nathan Smith: 245 runs @ 24avg/59sr
Peter Younghusband: 231 runs @ 21avg/35sr
Callum McLachlan: 220 runs @ 20avg/50sr
Logan van Beek: 161 runs @ 80avg/47sr
Tom Blundell: 117 runs @ 58avg/63sr
Bowling
Nathan Smith: 33w @ 17avg/2.9rpo
Peter Younghusband: 28w @ 26avg/3.2rpo
Michael Snedden: 11w @ 49avg/3.3rpo
Michael Bracewell: 10w @ 19avg/3.5rpo
Logan van Beek: 10w @ 40avg/3.8rpo
Ben Sears: 9w @ 44avg/3.7rpo
James Hartshorn: 7w @ 35avg/2.9rpo
Tim Robinson: 3w @ 14avg/3.5rpo
Muhammad Abbas: 3w @ 23avg/3.5rpo
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