Nobody mention the loan player system.
That still rankles with Otago Country.
Last season when the Volts were looking around for a stand-in keeper for a game they overlooked Otago Country gloveman Cam Jackson and went with Central Districts back-up keeper Ma’ara Ave instead.
Ave made a one-off appearance for Otago as a loan player.
It is a decision which did not sit well with some fans including Otago Country coach
Rhiane Smith.
His side will host Southland in a Hawke Cup zone 4 game at Molyneux Park this weekend.
Jackson shapes as a key player with the bat.
"That is a sore point and I think that was the worst decision they could make," Smith said.
"He certainly deserved a chance from my point of view. But he has bounced back really well.
"He is quite a relaxed sort of a guy, Cam, and he loves playing for Country."
The left-hander plays club cricket for Taieri in the Dunedin premier grade. He captains the team and will co-captain Otago Country this weekend alongside opening batter Michael Goldstein.
Smith said Jackson was an aggressive player who loved hitting the ball square, but had developed his game a lot in the past few summers and could now play the ball down the ground with greater ease.
Sukhdev Singh shapes as another key figure in the playing XI. He bats in the top order and bowls offspin.
Seamer Toby Hart will make his debut. The right-armer is part of the Otago under-19 and A set-up and is reasonably sharp in pace.
He will take the new ball alongside Tom Myles, who has returned from a year off.
Otago Country has not named a 12th man. Smith or fellow coach, former Black Cap Shayne O’Connor , will fill in if needed.
Southland will lean on the likes of veteran Brendan Domigan and Hamish Skelt to build a big total, while Keegan Russell, who played for Green Island for a season, will add some energy with the ball.
Southland was outclassed in its belated Hawke Cup challenge against Canterbury Country last month — it was delayed a year due to Covid.
But Russell said it was good reminder of the standard the team needs to be at.
"We’ve come away from that and done some really good work.
"The squad is looking really balanced and we are really excited to get the 2022-23 campaign off to a good start."
Hawke Cup zone 4
Molyneux Park, 10.30am
Otago Country: Taylor Cumberland, Michael Goldstein, Sukhdev Singh, Cam Jackson, Jeremy Gray, Charanjeet Singh, Josh Shackleton, Tim Cotter, Kelan Smith, Tom Myles, Toby Hart.
Southland: Nick Brown, Blake Buttar-Scurr, Brendan Domigan, Aaron Hart, Kieran Lloyd, Ben McCall, Jared McKenzie, Jack Mockford, Jason Osborne, Keegan Russell, Hamish Skelt, Kurt Thompson.
