Bay of Plenty's Graeme Aldridge has won his third top gong at Northern Districts' awards dinner but he'd happily give it back for some silverware in the cabinet.
The veteran seam bowler was named ND Player of the Year after this season becoming the highest wicket-taker in the history of the
New Zealand domestic one-day competition.
Aldridge took 53 wickets over three competitions in his 2010/11 campaign - 12 wickets at an average of 20 in the Twenty20 competition, 11 wickets at 26 in the one-day competition and 30 wickets at 25 in the Plunket Shield.
It was the third year on the trot the top award was taken by a Bay of Plenty player after Kane Williamson's back-to-back wins.
BJ Watling won the batsman of the Year trophy after averaging more than 50 in both the Plunket Shield and the one-day competition.
Northern won the one-day and four-day domestic titles last summer but, this year, the trophy cabinet is bare after they failed last week to knock over eventual winners Canterbury in Rangiora, losing outright by eight wickets.
Aldridge admitted the awards dinner in Hamilton was slightly subdued after the barren summer.
"It's always nice to come away with something but the one we wanted (after the Twenty20 and one-day titles passed them by) was the (Plunket Shield) competition, so there's a tinge of disappointment there that we didn't win a thing," Aldridge said.
The New Zealand A player will have this week off before returning to his teaching job in Hamilton after the school holidays. "A few weeks off will be good because I'm feeling pretty jaded right now."
