Top players get chance to stake a place in Hawke Cup campaign

CRICKET

Logan Savory Southland coach Steve Jackson will cast his eyes over potential players for the 2012-13 Hawke Cup campaign when he holds a trial fixture on Sunday.

Jackson has picked out 26 players from club cricket to play in a 60-overs-a-side game at Southland Boys’ High School in Invercargill, starting at 10.30am.

The triallists are predominantly made up of players from Southland’s six senior clubs but Jackson has also included some players from the Combined Country grade to see where they are at when playing at a higher level.

It was initially hoped the game could be played over two days to simulate a Hawke Cup fixture, with club cricket not being played that weekend. However, with the wet start to the season in which the entire club Twenty20 competition was washed out, Southland Cricket did not want to have another weekend of no club cricket.

Jackson said he was well aware of what the proven Hawke Cup players could do but was keen to see what some of the fringe players could offer at a level above club cricket.

‘‘It gives a good opportunity for guys to put their hands up, but it also gives us a much better idea comparing people all on the same playing level really,’’ he said.

‘‘The other thing we’ll be looking at is, hopefully, the guys would have had a game on the Saturday and it will be interesting to see how guys bounce back on the second day, and obviously I’m looking for guys to be playing two- and three-day cricket.’’

Jackson was pleased with the bowling stocks on offer, but concedes they were light in the runscoring department and there were spots open if players put their hands up.