Otago captain Craig Cumming's on again-off again international career might have "dulled" his enthusiasm to play for the national side but he remains committed to playing for the province.
Cumming lost his place in the Black Caps after some poor performances in the home test series against Bangladesh earlier this year.
While he initially accepted his non-selection, the mixed messages he received from the selectors and the coach, John Bracewell, left him confused and disappointed.
"It has dulled my enthusiasm for the New Zealand side. I'll still watch them with a passion and still want to see them do well," Cumming said.
"And, obviously, if the opportunity arose you'd never turn it down but it is certainly not a focus. It requires a lot of time and a lot of commitment to want to play for New Zealand and, at this stage of my life, I'm happy to put that time and commitment into playing for Otago."
Cumming did not have long to dwell on his axing from the national side. A week later he was staring alongside Brendon McCullum and helping Otago overhaul Auckland's total of 310 for seven in the final of the State Shield.
McCullum smashed a remarkable 170 and hogged most of the limelight, but Cumming had the honour of hitting the winning runs. And, arguably, his 86 off 93 balls, two for 46 with the ball and masterful captaincy was every bit as valuable as McCullum's phenomenal knock.
"For me it [the win] was probably a career highlight and a feeling I want to repeat. It is something that has given me the motivation to go on this year."
Otago's prospects of back-to-back titles look very good, with the side shaping as a firm favourite. The Volts have added English all-rounder Dimitri Mascarenhas, former Black Caps fast bowler Ian Butler and South African-born left-arm swing bowler Neil Wagner. But they have lost the services of left-arm seamer Bradley Scott, who has moved to Hamilton and will play for Northern Districts.
"I'm more than comfortable if people want to say we are favourites. It is not something we've had in the past but we've probably earnt it. In the last three years we've made two finals and a semifinal and we are striving to continue that on."
"We've kept [most of] the squad together and made some pretty exciting additions which I think will add to our one-day side and give us more variation.
"I think the formula that we have used for the last two or three years, people will start to work it out and understand it. So we need a little more variation in what we are trying to do."
Potentially, Otago could have "up to 10 bowlers" on the park. While that embarrassment of riches sounds like a captain's dream, it can also have its drawbacks, Cumming said.
"Sometimes, as a captain, it is hard if you've got too many bowlers. You start trying to give everyone a go. But the great thing is we can pick guys in conditions that suit them."
While Otago won the one-day tournament it struggled with consistency and needed some luck to make the play-off stage. In the twenty/20 competition, Otago managed just one win from five matches and finished last.
"That was probably our biggest disappointment. We didn't get the balance right and probably relied on Brendon too much at the top of the order.
"At the end of the day it is about scoring runs, not bowling. Last year we didn't score enough. This year we need to."
He acknowledged the shortest version of the game could be a lottery but believed the best-organised side usually came through.
In the four-day competition Otago has laboured to take 20 wickets and convert good batting performances into outright wins.
But the bowling attack looks to have more teeth. Hopes are high Wagner will deliver on his promise. He is nippy rather than express and gets swing, but is unknown quality.
James McMillan has lost 14kg over the winter and is looking fit and bowling with real zip, and Mat Harvie returns after suffering a serious back injury which sidelined him for the 2007-08 season.
Those three will jostle for the new ball which may mean stalwart Warren McSkimming bowls first-change. The medium pacer has been the mainstay of the Otago attack for the last five years.
Promising left-armer Craig Smith has made big improvements, and in the spinning department Otago is well-served with Nathan McCullum, Will Somerville and emerging left-arm slow bowler Nick Beard.
Opener Aaron Redmond will be unavailable while on duty for the Black Caps test side. That will pave the way for Leighton Morgan and Hamish Rutherford. There is also a gap at No 5 but the rest of the line-up looks settled with Cumming, Greg Todd and Neil Broom well entrenched.
• Five of the best matches you cannot afford to miss
> The picturesque University Oval will be the place to be from December 11-15. The Black Caps play the West Indies in the first of two tests and it is in our back yard. The last time the sides met in Dunedin, New Zealand won a dramatic match by one wicket. The game was also memorable for West Indies fast bowler Michael Holding kicking down the stumps.
> The New Year's Eve ODI in Queenstown is now established as one of the favourite days on the country's cricket calendar. This summer the Blacks Caps will defend their proud record at the venue against the West Indies.
> Otago should have put a big X beside February 1. That is the day the domestic one-day final is scheduled and, with the likes of Brendon McCullum and Dimitri Mascarenhas in the squad, the Volts shape as favourites to make it back-to-back titles.
> India has struggled in New Zealand conditions but it has some of the biggest names in the game and the squad will be match-hardened after a home series against Australia. The second test at the Basin Reserve begins on April 3 and promises to be a cracker.
> Otago's season begins with a first-class game against Northern Districts at the University Oval on November 17. It is the first opportunity to see South African left-arm bowler Neil Wagner in action. Wagner has a promising record and has the aim of playing for the Black Caps.
• Five players to watch
> Ishant Sharma
Indian fast bowler Ishant Sharma announced his arrival on the international scene during the 2007-08 test series against Australia.
The 20-year-old moved the ball both ways and got the better of Australian captain Ricky Ponting, dismissing him twice in the third test in Perth to help India win by 72 runs.
Watching from the sidelines, former Australian captain Steve Waugh described Sharma as the next big thing.
New Zealand conditions should suit him.
> Tim Southee
New Zealand has produced some good all-rounders with the likes of John Reid, Richard Hadlee, Chris Cairns and Jacob Oram. Tim Southee looks set to follow in their footsteps.
In his test debut against England, the 19-year-old made an impressive start, taking five for 55 and bludgeoning an undefeated 77 from 40 balls.
At the 2008 under-19 world cup the right-arm swing bowler took 17 wickets and was named player of the tournament.
He is no certainty in the New Zealand line-up yet, but his future looks bright.
> Ramnaresh Sarwan
A nimble and fleet-footed right-handed batsman, Ramnaresh Sarwan is one of the key performers for the West Indies.
Despite taking 28 tests before posting his maiden test century, the 28-year-old has compiled a more than useful record.
In 72 tests he has scored 4889 runs at an average of 40.40, including 11 centuries. But in three tests against New Zealand he has scored just 123 runs at 24.60 and will have a point to prove.
The University Oval's dimensions are not likely to challenge him much if he gets set during the first test in December.
> Neil Wagner
The new Otago left-arm swing bowler arrives in Dunedin from South Africa with an impressive record and the lofty aim of playing for the Black Caps.
In 20 first-class matches for Northern Transvaal, Wagner has taken 89 wickets at an average of 18.29.
The 22-year-old has the ability to move the ball both ways, a skill which should help the strike bowler flourish in New Zealand conditions.
> Corey Anderson
Canterbury teenager Corey Anderson became the youngest (16 years and 89 days) New Zealander since Otago's Noel McGregor (1947/48) to play first-class cricket when he made his debut against Central Districts in March 2007.
The left-arm pace bowler and middle-order batsman is the eighth-youngest New Zealander to play first-class and is still making his way in domestic cricket.
Already, he looks to have the temperament and skills to have a long domestic, if not international, career.
