Having a rest between the winter and summer sports seasons should freshen up Marist's Nick Harding when the Coastal Challenge gets underway tomorrow.
They will be playing everywhere from Levin to Masterton and the surviving Whanganui Premier 1 cricket teams are hopeful they now have the depth to reach the championship playoffs when the new-look Coastal Challenge Cup begins play on Saturday afternoon.
The local contingent is down to three club teams and the Collegiate 1st XI after the withdrawal of the Marton Saracens this summer, with a handful of those Rangitikei-based players helping fill the coffers of the remaining sides.
They will play the same four Horowhenua-Kapiti clubs from the past three seasons, along with the new additions from Wairarapa - United CC and Red Star.
The Horowhenua-Kapiti teams have already played an opening round against each other last weekend, with Paraparaumu CC just running down Levin Old Boys for a two wicket win, while Wereroa beat Kapiti Old Boys by 14 runs in a low scoring affair.
As two-time runnersup in Coastal Challenge to Paraparaumu, it is a rebuilding phase for Property Brokers United after the departure of both their English-born players.
"Freddie Wilson getting engaged and back in the United Kingdom, Greg Smith hoping to find himself a new wife," said senior player Gerard Hobbs.
A former Wanganui representative captain, Smith ultimately signed off in style with his final local innings being the undefeated 130 in United's semifinal win over Watson's Tech on Twenty20 finals day back in March.
In addition, veteran spinner Marty Pennefather will be moving back down to the United 2nd XI, after he was quite successful playing in the top grade last summer to get prepared to join the 'Grey Caps' – the New Zealand Over 50's team – which played their Australian counterparts.
Pennefather has retained his place in the New Zealand squad for the 2018 Over 50's World Cup, being played on grounds across Sydney in late November and early December.
To offset the departures, United have inherited Scott Oliver and Andre Canderle from Saracens, while other players returning after missing much of last summer are Dylan Martin and Massey-based sports co-ordinator Chris Sharrock.
Pace bowler Ryan Slight and batsman Matthew Simes will also join the team once university wraps up for the semester.
"Same base core of players as previous and our main objective is to win the newly formed Coastal Challenge," said Hobbs.
After a couple of seasons struggling for a full roster, Marist is concentrating all their resources on their Premier 1 team, instead of fielding squads in both grades.
And it should be a handy side as well, although some of the noteworthy names will likely be coming and going.
"Our goal is to improve on winning the plate final last year," said captain John McIlraith.
"We are wanting to get off to a quicker start from last season as we lost our first four matches in Coastal and won the remainders."
Saracens representative players Dominic Rayner and Craig Clare will join the team when available, while McIlraith said there "has been whispers" that former clubman and Wanganui rugby representative Brett Turner may be keen.
"Marist may see the newly named All Black in Brett Cameron play a match or two if rugby commitments allow."
A former Wanganui cricket representative before moving to Canterbury, Cameron could only make it back for one club match last season but made it count – smacking 54 not out in a Twenty20 game with Tech.
McIlraith said it was unlikely that their Central Districts professional batsman Ben Smith will be available for any club cricket, "but you never know".
University-based players Nick O'Leary, Angus Dinwiddie and Connor O'Leary will play for part of the season, while McIlraith is hoping batsman Chris Stewart can retain his form from last summer – which thanks to some big scores and not outs led to an average close to 100.
The skipper appreciates two sports star Nick Harding turning down Wanganui Sevens duties to take a month's rest – unlike last year when he literally went from a Meads Cup final to the Victoria Park pitch on consecutive Saturdays.
"Focus on getting his body right for the cricket season. He could pose as a real dangerman in the Coastal Challenge."
The team with the most international flavour will be Coastal Challenge's inaugural champions Tech, as the Whanganui-Canada connection has been further strengthened.
As well as Under 19 international Akash Gill staying in Whanganui over the winter, Ontario teenager Akhil Kumar has returned for his second season, and joining him is Harkaran Mann.
"So we've got two overseas players because Akash is now a local player," said manager Andrew Lock.
"The Canadians arrived this morning, so who knows how jet lagged they'll be.
"This weekend there's so much sport on. We've lost players to football, then there's rugby, basketball."
Regular captain Dominic Lock is currently away at university, so allrounder Ross Kinnerley will skipper the team for the first three games.
Jessica Watkin will be off for the Women's Twenty20 World Cup after today's game, while Tech will look to their other regulars like Fraser Kinnerley, Tyler Lock, Trent Hemi and veteran Bevan Hunter to hold down the fort in a competition with much more travelling over the summer.
"Looking forward to it. It can only make it stronger and a bit more variety," said Andrew Lock.
Also approaching the season with optimism is the Collegiate 1st XI's new coach Warren Herbert.
Retaining all the squad members who played the latter half of the 2017-18 season, while likely to only lose two older boys after Christmas, Herbert's goal is to use Coastal Challenge to build up the confidence before the usual busy schedule in the New Year where the team will play cricket on seven of the nine weekends.
"We're probably a month late getting everything up and going, but the process was very thorough."
Herbert took the team to Hawke's Bay for two day's of play against Lindisfarne College, and despite illness within the squad leading to late changes for this weekend's match, they were able to fit in three training sessions.
"It's an exciting group of boys," he said.
"Term 1 next year is a massive amount of cricket with the traditionals – we've got a lot of travelling.
"It's a good position for an assault on the Gillette Cup."
Collegiate will be hosting United on the school's No3 ground, while Tech will take on Kapiti Old Boys at Victoria Park.
Marist go on the road to play two-time defending champions Paraparaumu at Kena Kena Park.
The Wairarapa teams begin their first Coastal Challenge campaign at home, with United CC hosting Levin Old Boys at Masterton's Queen Elizabeth Park, while Red Star play Weraroa at Greytown Memorial Park.
Collegiate vs United will start at 11am and all the other 50-over games start at 12pm.
The Whanganui teams are
Marist
John McIlraith (c), Mark Fraser, Chris Stewart, Nick Harding, Sam O'Leary, Dominic Rayner, Craig Clare, Ben Smith, Brett Turner, Michael O'Leary, Craig Thorpe, Michael Engelbrecht, Zak O'Keeffe, Thomas Redpath, Max Smith, Raponi Tofa, Kent Darlington, Zander Engelbrecht, Hadleigh Reid, Connor O'Leary, Angus Dinwiddie, Sam Beard, Nic O'Leary, Andy Manousos, Jono Quirk, Alex Goodin, Brett Cameron.
United
Tom Lance (c), Gerard Hobbs, Mathew Boswell, Simon Badger, Josh Goleby, Scott Oliver, Andre Canderle, Matthew Simes, Ryan Slight, James Pennefather, Dylan Martin, Chris Sharrock, Brendon Walker, Robbie Power, Ritesh Verma, Stephen Holloway.
Tech
Dominic Lock (c), Akash Gill, Akhil Kumar, Harkaran Mann, Ross Kinnerley, Fraser Kinnerley, Jessica Watkin, Tyler Lock, Quinn Mailman, Cameron Mackintosh, Peter Czerwonka, Tim Czerwonka, Bevan Hunter, Chris Friedel, Sam Suri, Trent Hemi.
Wanganui Collegiate
Adam Lennox, Charlie Greatbatch, Harry Godfrey, Henry Kilmister, Joel Clark, Joseph Abernethy, William Hocquard, Shaun O'Leary, Hadleigh O'Leary, Beau Hourigan, Hayden Skou.
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The Wanganui representative wider training group of 15 players will learn who their 16th player and new coach will be on Tuesday.
Preparing for the provincial rep season, Wanganui has had nine-local based players and six others currently away from town for work and university on Individual Performance Programmes (IPP).
The players will learn who the new player-coach is ahead of the official announcement that day.
The Chapple Cup 50-over tournament will be November 16-18, while the five-game Furlong Cup season begins on November 10-11.