Stags unchanged to play Firebirds
Central Districts will be out for revenge when they take on Wellington in the second match of the domestic one-day competition in Napier today.
The memories of the Firebirds hoisting the Twenty20 title after a 14-run win against the Stags in the final earlier this month will be fresh in their minds.
CD coach Heinrich Malan has stayed loyal to the 12 men he picked for the domestic one-day opener against Canterbury on Sunday.
The Stags lost that match by two wickets, but Canterbury only hauled in CD’S 296-6 with four balls to spare.
Despite the loss, there were plenty of strong performances.
George Worker (90), Josh Clarkson (70 not out) and Jesse Ryder (68) all had good days with the bat, while Black Caps bowler Ben Wheeler picked up career-best figures of 4-51 with the ball.
Bowler Navin Patel was the 12th man for the Canterbury match.
Nine players in the Stags’ 12 were on the field for the Super Smash final.
Wellington are hoping to continue their momentum from that match.
The Firebirds come into today’s game in good form following a three-wicket win over Otago when they chased down 302 in the 49th over.
Luke Woodcock (92) and Matt Taylor (56) were the best of their batsmen from that match.
They have also named an unchanged team to play the Stags.
Wellington captain Hamish Marshall was confident his side was up to the challenge of the Stags.
‘‘CD have set the benchmark for limited overs cricket in New Zealand for the past couple of years so we know there’s an added challenge in facing them.’’