Cricket: Pamment netted for another two years

For Northern Knights coach James Pamment staying put has turned out to be a winner. Photo / File

Northern Knights coach James Pamment has signed a new two-year extension to his contract.

The Mount Maunganui resident is now locked in to coach the team until the conclusion of the 2016-17 season.

Pamment completed the first of a two-year term as coach in the 2013-14 season, with the team enjoying immediate success winning the domestic Twenty20 competition and finishing runner-up in the one-day competition.

Last month he led the team in India to the highest placed finish of any New Zealand team at the Champions League Twenty20 competition.

Northern Districts chief executive Peter Roach said that it made perfect sense to look to extend Pamment's contract before the expiration of the term.

"When we were recruiting for a coach before the start of last season, our brief was to find the coach that would best maximise the individual and team performances of our next great crop of players," Roach said. "We have seen nothing in the past 18 months to indicate that James is not the very best person to achieve this goal. In James we have someone that really believes in ND's philosophies around individual player development, and understands fully where we wish to head as an organisation."

Pamment said he was proud the organisation have seen fit to extend his contract ahead of time.

"We look forward to the coming season with great optimism," he said. "We have a strong core group of senior players, and some really exciting talent that we expect to keep developing."

Pamment said there were plenty of positives and learnings to take from the recent Indian campaign.

"The preparation and lead in was very good which allowed us to hit the tournament running. It allowed us to get through the important qualifying stage which is vital.

"The learnings are that when you come up against those world class teams, we aren't where we need to be, to be expecting to beat those teams. The finalists were laden with world class Twenty20 players but I was delighted with everybody because everybody delivered the opportunity in front of them.

"We reached a level that was our very best level and now it is up to us to work hard and get better, so we can improve time after time."

Northern Knights begin their campaign with a Plunket Shield match in Whangarei on October 23-26, before returning to Hamilton's Seddon Park for the opening round of the Georgie Pie Super Smash Twenty20 on Saturday November 1 at 3.50pm.