"Our bowling is not quite as strong," says Doull, clarifying an earlier reference to "weak" before the team starts from today to defend the Chapple Cup, the symbol of inter-district supremacy between minor associations in the Central Districts catchment area.
"Last year we had Dougie [Bracewell] ... so to call the bowling weak is perhaps an injustice but let's say we're not strong."
The Kieran Noema-Barnett-skippered Bay host No 8 seeds Wairarapa today at Nelson Park, Napier, from 10.30am.
The other games on adjacent wickets are runners-up Manawatu v Wanganui, Taranaki v Marlborough, Horowhenua-Kapiti v Nelson.
To the uninitiated, the coaches may appear to be in a state of utopia considering the men's major association domestic season hasn't started yet but, Doull hastens to add, that isn't necessarily the case.
Yes, in the batting department the Bay are blessed with the likes of retired Devon Hotel CD Stags batsman Mathew Sinclair, who is making short work of premier club bowlers, and NZ A rep Carl Cachopa is back from a century-making tour of the subcontinent with the added versatility to open batting and is also a seasoned medium-pace bowler.
Then there's former Black Cap Kruger van Wyk although it'll be interesting to see if fellow wicketkeeper Seb Langridge will become dispensable to bolster the bowling stock.
Noema-Barnett's bolshie attitude can alter the face of any game but last summer's CD skipper has also shown the quality of patience with a Plunket Shield four-day century.
Veteran James Mackie injects a modicum of hard-nose stability in the middle order but specialist Michael Taiaroa is missing.
Stevie Smidt, back from England, is a bowler who can bat but will he come in high enough to express himself?
Ditto Angus Schaw who offers a spin option although CD tweaker Ajaz Patel will have the first dibs after ex-Black Caps leggie Tarun Nethula inexplicably defected to Manawatu. Graeme Tryon has similar credentials to Schaw.
Young Jack Arnall isn't available because of varsity exams on Monday and Doull emphasises his future will always take precedence.
Driaan Lubbe falls into that bracket, too.
Experienced paceman Liam Rukuwai is out with a shoulder injury
Fellow Complete Flooring Napier Technical Old Boys seamer Craig Herrick should perhaps feel justified in feeling dejected after an unplayable spell that yielded a five-wicket bag for his club last Saturday although the pitch should be an arid bat-first one this weekend.
Doull feels teenager Ben Stoyanoff is equally unlucky while Ben Jackett returns primed from training in Auckland.
"We have good bowling stock to choose from but we're a little inexperienced."
With the Hawke Cup to follow and CD reps' impending departure, other batsmen/bowlers such as Toby Doyle, Henry Hunter, Jayden Lennox, Dominic Thompson and Scott Schaw should get a look in.
"We have a good spinner in Ajaz and we can rely on Jackett.
"With the Hawke Cup we'll be going back to our club players so the Hunters and Doyles will come into reckoning."
While he hadn't seen much of Sinclair, Doull accepts one can't argue with his statistics with bat and ball.
"To have him on board is superb and I have no doubt that if he wanted to play first-class cricket he'd have no problems."
The feeling in the squad is good.
"If everything goes to plan then it should again be a Hawke's Bay/Manawatu final on Sunday," he says of the knockout format.
That is not to say the Bay are foolish enough to stumble into the ditch of complacency against Wairarapa in today's opener.
While Doull doesn't know enough about Wairarapa he is mindful last season's anaemic campaigners, who had a mass exodus of disenchanted players, have some experience this season.
The bottom dwellers will have veteran Sam Curtis in the mix.
"[Ex-CD Stag] Seth Rance is back from playing at club level in Wellington so he's not a bowler to be underestimated.
"He is a good bowler and has a big ticker, having played at a higher level so we're not taking them lightly."
Last summer, the Bay campaign lost some gloss in the zone 2, two-day qualifier of the Hawke Cup after losing to Manawatu who earned the right to challenge holders Hamilton in January.
Symbolically, that Manawatu clash mirrored a season that promised much but fizzled out when it mattered most.
On paper the Bay should have prevailed but the batsmen shouldered much of the blame because the bowlers had delivered.
Doull left Lubbe behind because of a side strain, picking up Herrick but lost opening seamer Rukuwai after 1.4 overs to a rib injury in the first-innings win over Taranaki in their final outing although an outright result wouldn't have mattered because Wairarapa needed to ruffle Manawatu's feathers to give the Bay a sniff.
It was also a season of despair, with adroit Tech opening batsman Bronson Meehan pulling the pin after the loss to the Michael Mason-coached Manawatu.
Meehan claimed he was "cricketed out" and "simply over" the game after Doull got stuck into his batsmen.
A miffed Doull had a few words with Meehan who also had reservations about playing rather than earning an income to pay bills. Hunter got a call up against Naki, contributing 68 runs. Meehan is in Australia this summer.
