New skipper tipped to make Firebirds hotshots for silverware

The unique qualities of former Black Caps skipper Stephen Fleming might be just what a new-look Wellington side needs to win some silverware this year, Neal Parlane reckons.
Parlane, a Wellington player for the past six seasons, was in Whangarei on Friday to play for Northland's first-class "origin" X1 in the Twenty20 match against the NZ Cricket Players Association.
He said Fleming's presence as captain of the capital's Twenty20 side gave them an edge in the competition and would be a big benefit to the province's emerging talent pool.
"Fleming sees the game differently from anyone I've ever seen," Parlane said.
"Normally what he says is just common sense but he often looks at things from a different angle to others, and it's amazing how often he opens your eyes when he talks," he added.
Wellington has taken on some talented youngsters this season, with 17-year-old right-hand batsman Harry Boam, perhaps the most exciting prospect, with BJ Crook, Mark Houghton and Josh Brodie the other newcomers to the team.
And the Firebirds have imported Graham Napier, who wrote his name into England's domestic Twenty20 record books for Essex with a record 152 not out from 58 balls against Sussex, an innings which included a world record 16 sixes.
"If the new crop of players have got anything special about them, they'll be sitting down to listen to him and talk to him as much as possible. He has got a lot to offer." Parlane said when he was a youngster he got the same sort of advice from Bob Cunis, Murray Child and Karl Treiber.
"They were the guys I remember the most, especially being a Maungakaramea boy."
After making his first class debut in the 1996/7 season for Northern Districts, Parlane fell out with coach Bruce Blair and was left out of the team in the 2001/2 season. The following year he left Northland to take up an offer to play in Wellington.
Unlike his brother Michael, who returned to play for Northern Districts this season after following Neal to Wellington, the younger Parlane has no thoughts of quitting the capital.
"It's home now and that's where I'll be for the duration," he said.
There is no doubt the right-handed batsman's game has improved since he arrived in Wellington. He has improved his first class average by 10 runs to 38.19, with a high score of 165 and a total of 3743 first class runs.
"I've matured a lot at Wellington and learned my game a lot better than I was able to at ND. But the two organisations have two completely different set-ups. In Wellington, everyone lives in the same area, which is great," he said.
"At the moment I'm loving it but that might change. I'm only only 30 now and still feel like there are a few more seasons ahead of me yet ... I'll have to see how the body holds out and how much interest I've got to play the game in the future."