Selectors will look at form not reputations

Northland's new provincial cricket coach Ewen Thompson says former representative players can't expect to be selected on reputation alone this season and current form will be a big part of his selection policy.
The former Central Districts all rounder has released the names of a 35-player training squad - including himself - to prepare for this year's provincial competition. But players not on the list could well be included, if they impress during this year's club competition, which gets under way at the beginning of next month.
"If you score a couple of hundreds then you are likely to start the first game, it's that simple - it's not about having pre-conceived thoughts about what people did last year because honestly there's not a lot to work from," he said.
"I wouldn't be able to guarantee that all of the final names in the squad will come from this squad, I looked through the Northland [provincial] and Northland club statistics last year and to be honest there's not a lot of outstanding figures to work from, so we've left it pretty open," he said.
Northland didn't have the happiest of campaigns last summer and Thompson and his fellow selectors, Murray Child and Barry Cooper, have cast their net wide to allow all involved in the squad to push for a Northland starting spot by showing a strong work ethic early in the season.
"Silverware is a consequence of good plans, good selection and getting some momentum in the season," Thompson said.
It was also evident to the selectors that there was no representative hundreds or six wicket bags from Northlanders last season. Apart from the players with a first class background, no other players could afford to rest on their laurels.
"While I will be very loyal to first class players coming back into the team, everybody else - including myself - will need to stand up and perform," he said.
Most of the playing schedule has yet to be confirmed but it is likely the representative season will get under way with the annual limited over tournament at Taupo's Owen Delany Park on November 14, 15 and 16.
Brett Hood will captain the side but will not have a role as a selector.
Jon Fitzpatrick will return as the team manager and Karl Treiber will be involved as part of the coaching team but will not travel.
"It looks like we'll be getting some solid weekends of two-day cricket with our key games against Bay of Plenty and Hamilton, which will pretty much decide the Hawke Cup challenger," Thompson said.
With the addition of some one-day games before Christmas, there will be a pretty busy schedule for the team.
"But that's what we want really, rather than things being spread out over a whole summer, a month and a half of solid cricket will help the guys to develop some continuity, otherwise it's very difficult to push into the next level if they're playing our whole calendar over five or six months," he said.

The initial 35-man Northland pre-season training squad is: Brett Hood (C), Ewen Thompson (Player Coach), Henry Cooper, Ian Page, Chris Page, Curtis Cherington, Joseph O'Sullivan, Todd Beehre, Rhys Farrand, Nick Breslin, Rory Darkins, Josh Matthews, Jamie Kaye, Tom Herman, Tauseef Saati, Jake Phillips, Ben Williams, John Child, Bradley Kneebone, Ben Hyde, Craig Russell, Vishaan Harypusat, Dean Child, Kevin Forde, Will Johnson, Ryan Smith, Jamie Millar, Matt Taylor, Kieran Nelson, Andy McDowell, Brad Wilson, James Marshall, Tim Southee, Michael Parlane, Joseph Yovich.