Cricket: Oh baby, it's two bundles of CD joy in one week

Coach Heinrich Malan says juggling cricket with family matters, such as childbirth, is something the CD culture embraces and encourages. Photo/file

He arrived into the world at 3.15pm with the pomp and ceremony every parent wishes for a child.

Huwen Malan, all 3.1kg and 48cm of him, was born in Napier at the height of the electrical storm that caught Hawke's Bay on the hop on Wednesday.

Jana Malan, wife of CD coach Heinrich, gave birth to their third child, after he missed the last round of the Plunket Shield match in Nelson to stay with her.

"My wife and I make pretty small people so it's not the prettiest of times but it's all good," said the jovial South African Stags coach who will be back at the helm of the team tomorrow in New Plymouth for round one of the Ford Trophy competition.

Malan said it was tough to miss the top-of-the-table shield clash with Wellington Firebirds but life came knocking on their door.

"At the end of the day I'm a big family man and the boys know we have built a family environment around the Stags."

He revealed that CD seamer Seth Rance, of Wairarapa, also became a dad again on Tuesday when wife Suzannah gave birth to their second child, Dexter. The couple have a 2-year-old son, Lachie.

"So the boys are all pretty understanding that you have to have a family and try to juggle things, leaving home at seven on Monday and returning at night on the following Tuesday."

Malan said ex-international Jacob Oram, of Palmerston North, was back in the coaching stable but this time as an assistant rather than as just a bowling coach to boost his CV.

"It's exciting to have him back [for white ball] because he's got huge cricketing experience ... and the boys love having him around so it's a privilege to have some hardened CD men working with us to drive the programme forward."