Club: Johnsonville
Wellington Firebirds debut: v Otago Volts 2001-02 (first-class)
Best bat: 220 not out v Central Stags, Basin Reserve 2009-10 (first-class)
Best bowl: 4 for 3 v Otago Volts 2001-02 (first-class)
Luke Woodcock’s stocks continued to rise ahead of the 2011-12 summer of cricket having been selected in the BLACKCAPS for his second overseas tour in October, in the One-Day and Twenty20 series against Zimbabwe. This follows on from him making his international Twenty20 and One-Day debuts against Pakistan in December and January and then travelling with the BLACKCAPS as part of their One-Day World Cup squad.
Previously, Woodcock enjoyed an outstanding season for the Wellington Firebirds in 2009-10. He scored 988 runs and broke Wellington’s all-time single season scoring record by a hundred runs and deservedly won that season’s Wellington Player of the Year trophy .Highlights included his mammoth 220 not out and ninth wicket record partnership of 225 with Malaesaili Tugaga against the Central Stags and his 93 and match winning 125-run partnership with debutant Joe Austin-Smellie against the Northern Knights.
He also averaged 31 at a strike rate of 96 in the One-Day competition, and to top off a great season, his performances were duly recognised with his selection in the New Zealand ‘A’ side for the second consecutive year.
Woodcock is also an attacking left arm spin bowler who regularly picks up wickets in all three forms of the game.
He won the Best Allrounder’s gong at the previous year’s end of season Cricket Wellington Awards, as recognition of a fine all-round 2008-09 season. In the first-class competition he scored four half centuries and one century and took 16 wickets. He took 12 wickets in the one-day competition and captured three consecutive three-wicket hauls and added some valuable runs in the middle order in the domestic Twenty20 series.
He is also a regular accumulator of runs in club cricket for his club team Johnsonville, reaching the milestone of 4,000 club cricket runs in November 2008.
LUKE WOODCOCK
Playing style: All-rounder
Nickname: Woody
Secondary school attended: Newlands College
Club: Johnsonville
Earliest cricket memory: Throwdowns with Jonathan Millmow
Favourite ground to play cricket on: Tawhiti # 4
Most memorable cricket moment: Johnsonville winning the One-Day final
If I could bat/bowl in partnership with any cricketer from any era I would chose: Jonathan Millmow – he bowled a great line and length
Favourite player growing up: Jonathan Millmow
The non-cricketing sports person or team I most admire: The Johnsonville Senior 1st rugby team
If I wasn’t a Firebirds cricketer I’d be: A barista
Favourite superhero: Spongebob Squarepants – because he is built like me
Favourite book/magazine: Anything written by Hamish Bidwell
Favourite holiday destination: Columbia – for the coffee
In my spare time I like to: Drink coffee
Most people don’t know that I : Am an aggressive sweater
My signature dish is: Anything with coffee in it