Donnelly proves his worth

If Northern Knights fans were ever concerned about the team letting their guard down when some of their top players are away on international duty or added to the injury list - they needn't be anymore - with quality players like Jason Donnelly arriving on the scene.
Donnelly, like fill-in wicket keeper Owen Ivins, has been pressed into service in the Knight's opening two Plunket Shield matches to cover for injury and the squad may yet be pulled further out of shape for their third round match against Canterbury today at Cobham Oval by further injury concerns.
The slow left-arm bowler and middle order batsman made his debut in the last round against Wellington, finishing with four wickets to his name and providing a perfect foil to in-form pacemen Trent Boult and Graeme Aldridge.
"I got the opportunity when Jono [Boult] got injured just before the toss, so I wasn't expecting to get the chance but it was great to get the chance to help the team out by filling in a role," he said.
Donnelly finished with 3-80 off a hefty 36 overs in the second innings but thought he was only a slight chance to make the playing roster for the Knights today, with Jono Boult likely to start the match.
"It was good to bowl into the wind at one end while G [Aldridge] was the main-staker at the other end getting a fivefor [five wickets] while I was playing a defensive role, while G and Trent [Boult] did the attacking and obviously that worked very well," he said.
Alas for the former Rosmini College old boy, his luck deserted him with the bat and he was dismissed lbw without scoring by Grant Elliot in his only turn at bat.
Donnelly has always been one to follow his nose in the game and at just 23, he has already amassed plenty of experience in the game. After high school, he was offered a spot playing in South Australia and took the chance.
"I joined the [SA] Red Backs squad as a contracted player and spent three years with them training and playing and although I was 12th man a few times, I couldn't quite break through into the team - it's pretty competitive over there," he said.
He was picked up by Canterbury last season before moving back to his native Auckland where an opportunity opened up within the wider Northern Districts squad.
One of the best features of the offer was the opportunity to work with ND coach Grant Bradburn - who he rates as one of the best coaches in the country.
"Grant's got that ability of being a good bowler and cricketer but it's more than that, I think he's really come of age as a professional coach, he's grown a lot as a person and as a communicator," he said.
He said the team were keen to maintain their dominance over other teams in their northern stronghold of Whangarei - where they have won most of their Plunket Shield matches over the last three seasons - and were pretty fired up to win their final match before the team started the HRV Cup Twenty20 competition.
The Knights playing XI was still to be confirmed yesterday evening. The game starts today at 10.30am and ground entry is free.