Cricket director hopefuls line up

Central Districts

Cricket

Hugh Henderson

The Central Districts Cricket Association is interviewing applicants next week in its hunt for a director of cricket.

CEO Hugh Henderson last night would not disclose how many people are vying for the newly created position or where they were from but he said the fulltime or part-time position entailed the responsibility of overseeing and co-ordinating the game in the fragmented region.

Henderson said the need for a director arose after a review of CD's operations revealed it needed something slightly different to reflect its geographical challenges.

"We have eight districts separated by water and that's creating its own challenges.

"We had a structure that most associations have in New Zealand, so we needed to do what works for us most," he said after applications for the director's position closed on September 14.

Fundamentally, the new role will also free up Henderson, who is in his third summer of cricket, from dealing with playing issues at the coal face with the onset of the 2012-13 season.

"The role will enable me not to relate to cricket matters.

"It will mean I'll be able to spend time on how to generate money from the game, attend to sponsors and funding organisations," he said.

The advertisement on the CD website says the director will focus on the preparing a central plan that will embrace the three core areas of game development and district cricket, player and coach development, and first-class men's and women's cricket.

Henderson said effectively the director's job would sit above CD Stags coaches Alan Hunt and Lance Hamilton and CD Hinds coach Mike Shrimpton, amateur cricket manager Scott Briasco and grassroots development manager Nigel Brooke of Levin.

"All the areas are similar and work together with one district."

A perennial problem with the CD region - which comprises Hawke's Bay, Manawatu, Wairarapa, Wanganui, Poverty Bay, Marlborough, Horowhenua-Kapiti and Taranaki - is the coaches' inability to move around a vast expanse to recruit emerging talent.

However, Hunt, Briasco and Gary Cunningham have performed the co-selectors' role for the Stags, while Briasco has acted as convenor for the CD Hinds and other age-group teams with the help of Cunningham and Brooke and seven other co-selectors based at different centres.

Henderson said the new director's role would be similar to Wellington counterpart Robbie Kerr but different because of the complexities CD posed.

Major associations Canterbury and Auckland were also in the hunt for directors.

Hawke's Bay Cricket Association CEO Paul Anderson has resigned and  GM Derek Stirling has confirmed Napier Technical Old Boys stalwart Craig Findlay has been appointed as his successor.