It’s the battle of the districts when the Northern Knights host the Central Stags on Wednesday for a place in the men’s one-day final.
The game will take place at Cobham Oval in Whangarei, and the winner will progress through to the final against the Aces on Sunday at Colin Maiden Park.
The Northern Knights will be looking to bounce back from their preliminary final last Saturday, when the Aces cruised to an easy eight wicket win.
Knights captain James Marshall is optimistic about Wednesday’s game. “We’ve actually got quite a bit of depth with our bowling attack with the likes of Brent Arnel, Bruce Martin, Te Ahu Davis and Trent Boult,” he said.
Marshall, who is celebrating his 31st birthday today, said it is also great having his twin brother back in the side. “It’s nice having Hamish back. We’ve played a lot of cricket together over the years and with him being based in England we don’t get to do that often.”
Marshall said Cobham Oval in Whangarei is a ground the team has won on many times during the season. “It’s always handy playing at home but it’s all about what you bring to the table on the day,” he said. “We’ve got an attitude of no fear which is a nice positive attitude.”
Their opponents, the Central Stags prevailed over Canterbury on Saturday in the three-plays-four preliminary final at QEII Park in Christchurch. Batsman Mathew Sinclair’s century secured victory for the Stags.
Stags captain Jamie How is looking forward to the challenges ahead. “Hopefully we can back up our HRV Cup title and make it into another final,” he said. “It’s been a couple of years since we’ve won the one-day title, so it would be nice to win two titles in a year. I can’t remember the last time that was done by a Central side.”
Although the Knights have a strong line up, How knows the Stags can step up to the mark and make it through to the final against the Aces on Saturday. “We’ve got a good line up and we are looking forward to the game on Wednesday. We’ve got a couple of guys in good form and confidence is high in the camp,” How concluded.
