CRICKET: CD coach optimistic guesser

Scott Briasco concedes he has very little idea exactly how Central Districts will fare at the national under-17 cricket tournament being held at Nelson Park over the next week.
It's not that the CD director of coaching is vague about the players he has chosen to represent the region, it's more a case of the not knowing how the players will cope with the tournament conditions and what sort of talent the opposition will possess.
However, his educated guess is that several of the CD boys will enhance their growing reputations in the game.
"While we want to do well at the tournament, our major focus is on development and a few of the kids we have here have got very good futures in the game," Briasco said.
"A lot of that development centres on learning to play at tournaments, because we haven't got a team that we can jump up and down about and say, 'we'll win this tournament.' "But what we do have is two or three guys who are players for the future."
When pressed, Briasco says the strength of the team should be in its bowling attack.
"Kurt Richards has been away playing at the under-19s and we've got Israel Dagg, Daniel Norman and Joe Wheeler, who are all good prospects for the future. And Bryce Grant , our captain, kept wickets on the last two days at the under-19s."
Although, as he says tongue-in-cheek, he predicted batting would be the strength of the CD under-19 team at their national tournament, when it was actually the bowling that came to the fore.
Hawke's Bay batsmen Michael Taiaroa and Matt Goodwin were both in tremendous form during the CD selection tournament and Briasco hopes the pair can score just as prolifically appetite this week.
The tournament runs from December 30 to January 7, with teams playing three two-day matches and two one-dayers. Central Districts: Bryce Grant (c), Alex Coles, Israel Dagg, Matt Goodwin, Richard Kennedy, Andrew Mason, Daniel Norman, Ryan O'Sullivan, Kurt Richards, Michael Taiaroa, Joseph Wheeler, George Worker.