The 2011-2012 Bellahomes Northland Club Cricket season gets under way on Saturday with the first two rounds of the premier grade Twenty20 at Kensington Park.
The third, fourth and fifth rounds of the T20 competition will be played the following weekend at the Kaipara Flats Cricket Club.
Defending T20 champions Kaipara Flats have an impressive line-up for the opening rounds, and president John Stephen is confident the premiers are in good shape, despite losing three key players.
"We lost three top order batsman [two of whom were top bowlers this season] - Jake Phillips, Brett Hood and Taz Satti, but we feel we have adequately replaced them with our new recruits," Stephen said.
This year, clubs had to arrange for their own coaches to come on board, and were helped out financially by Northland Cricket, which previously allocated professional coaches to each club.
Kaipara were lucky to source two young, but very experienced players in the form of Cantabrian Chris McGoldrick, an opening batsman and Joe Robbins from Essex, a top order batsman and medium pace bowler. The pair will share coaching duties and running of junior programmes in schools between them, Stephen explained. Kaipara also recruited Sri Lankan Mahela Undonogage, a handy batsman and offspin bowler.
The club will have Northern Knights James Marshall and Brad Wilson lining up for them this weekend, before they depart on the Knights' team spring camp in Rarotonga next week. At the end of the university year, they will have up and comers Kyron Dill and Dexter Buchanan on board again to replenish the premier stocks.
"We will be looking to try and win our first two games against City and Onerahi Central this weekend. We will be full strength but so will City, who certainly were our biggest rivals last year and we are expecting them to be this year again. But we are confident we will come away with a win," Stephen said.
Last year's overall club champions and T20 runner-ups City are expected to be the other leading contenders to take the T20 title, with a strong line-up featured this weekend.
Northern Knights' Joseph Yovich is available to play on Saturday along with Chris and Ian Page, Vishaan Harypursat and Rory Darkins, who will skipper the side.
Last season's overseas player/coach Richard Atkins is joining City once again, and will arrive from the United Kingdom next week, in time for the final three rounds of T20 at Kaipara.
Meanwhile, Kamo could well prove to be the dark horse having secured some handy acquisitions, with the likes of former Whangarei Boys High School First X1 top order batsman Ben Hyde joining the club at the end of his university semester.
Kamo are also in negotiations with last year's club English professional Dean Williams, to see whether he can make the trip to New Zealand again.
Another English player Steven Knox, a wicket keeper and batsman, is also set to play for Kamo this year, as well as drive junior recruitment for the club.
Reserve grade cricket also starts this weekend.