WHEN it comes to domestic cricket there are very few trade secrets between the six major association teams.
Devon Hotel Central Districts Stags player Carl Cachopa will attest to that and so will CD coach Alan Hunt and Auckland Aces counterpart Paul Strang.
"We have played Auckland three times now so we're familiar with what they do," Cachopa said before tomorrow's Ford Trophy limited-overs final in New Plymouth.
Says Strang: "New Zealand is a small country so the biggest asset is you know everyone."
Suffice it to say there's no chance of a culture of contempt breeding in the petrie dish of domestic cricket among the two major association teams left standing in the televised encounter in Pukekura Park.
CD coach Hunt, of Auckland, was quick to point out the defending champions showed enough firepower to tame the Otago Volts in the repechage match at Colin Maiden Park on Wednesday to dispel any complacency that may creep in amid claims the Aces have lost some key personnel to the Black Caps Twenty/20 squad.
"They did show they have depth so they are not to be taken lightly," Hunt said. "There's no secret recipe for success other than everyone simply doing their job."
Enough said.
Hunt reckons one school of thought is the Jamie How-captained CD are going into battle a little rusty because they have had a rest by virtue of becoming top qualifiers and going straight into the final after the rain-abandoned semifinal.
"Basically the team that has a week off is susceptible while the other finds momentum," he says but refusing to buy into that theory because a break, he feels, can easily be a good time to refuel.
Strang considers it a plus to have played CD twice at tomorrow's venue.
Confidence? Now that's another thing.
"It's my my first one-day final and we've found some form and we've worked our way to the top of the table and found some confidence in that," the 25-year-old Heretaunga Building Society Cornwall premier player said.
Pukekura Park was a home ground the Stags thrived on, something history reflected, he said.
"Whenever they have some silverware up for grabs everyone would like to bring their best game and if you can stand up on those occasions it tests you as a cricketer and earns you respect among your peers.
"We'd love to get one of the trophies or cups in our cabinets before the end of the season," he said, emphasising a victory tomorrow would mean the Stags would have a spring in their step going into the four-day Plunket Shield competition.
"That's a shield that everyone wants to win, too. It's well-respected and we hope that from this final outing we can take a lot of confidence with us."
Having played only the last two HRV Cup Twenty/20 matches in a dismal season, Cachopa didn't get too many opportunities to display his allround skills as part of the 13-member squad.
"I'm seen as a Twenty/20 player but, unfortunately, we have a very good side with a lot of internationals who came back into the mix and an overseas player who got injured," he said of former English international Graham Napier.
Although CD didn't play to their potential in the HRV Cup, which Auckland defended, Cachopa regards himself as one among several in the squad on the cusp of becoming established Twenty/20 players.
"I was fortunate to get some games through injuries. I enjoy the game and, hopefully, I can get a few more games going into next season.
"I definitely feel there's room for me in that batting order ... once again you need some exposure and put together a good performance," Cachopa reckoned, believing he might be slotted in a top-four position.
While a batsman who can bowl, Cachopa sees himself as a bowler who can bat in the shield competition, too.
"I batted around five and enjoyed the responsibility. I'd like to do that in the one-dayers as well, batting at No 4 and give Jamie [How] an option with the ball either at the first change or second."
His brother, Brad Cachopa, 23, is a top-order batsman in the Aces.
Hunt is happy with his bowling attack of veteran Michael Mason, 37, and likely to announce his retirement tomorrow, and young speed merchants Adam Milne, Bevan Small, Cachopa and Greg Todd.
Add to that rookie Black Cap leg spinner Tarun Nethula and his understudy, Marty Kain, who did well in the rained-off semifinal with 4-46.
The wicket will determine if Hunt and How will go with two spinners to contain Auckland's belligerent batsmen on a postage stamp-sized park that traditionally offers either singles or fours and sixes. Twenty/20 champions Auckland will flirt with that possibility in their approach to batting after an eight-wicket thumping there in round-robin play last month.
With Nethula driving across to New Plymouth yesterday after his sterling effort against Zimbabwe on Thursday, the Bay's Stevie Smidt will return to premier club duties.
Cachopa doesn't think it's a big issue to play against his Aces brother, Brad. Their other brother, Craig, was in the Wellington Firebirds mix this summer but became a sacrificial lamb last month after the team's mediocre season.
"Once you walk on the park everyone's just another player so we try the hardest and, I guess, the good thing about it at the end of the day is you catch up with a friendly face you know and have a good laugh about things," Carl Cachopa said of the South African-born trio from Auckland.
He hadn't spoken to Brad since the Aces beat the Volts on Wednesday but Cachopa intended to catch up with his younger brother before the final.
His parents and family spoke about watching tomorrow's one-day final but work commitments mean they will be confined to their lounge sofas taking in the atmosphere on TV.
For the Stags to lift the Ford Trophy every player will have to exude confidence but enjoy themselves, too.
"When the occasion comes put your hand up to take that, whoever he is in the battle of the bat or the ball."
He stresses the importance of keeping fielding tidy.
"If you take a catch or make a run out it's that one per cent can make a huge difference."
He felt Pukekura Park was a "unique" venue where the support was great, weather permitting.