It's a busy "super Saturday" coming up for New Zealand Cricket with round six of the Plunket Shield, brought to you by Budget Rental, beginning on the same day as the BLACKCAPS' crunch second ANZ Test against Australia (Christchurch) and the New Zealand WHITE FERNS' opening Rose Bowl One-Day International of their home series against Australia (Mount Maunganui).
• The table-topping Mondiale Auckland Aces move across town this week to Eden Park Outer Oval to host the SBS Bank Otago Volts — who are also coming off a win, their first this season.
• The SKYCITY Northern Knights host Canterbury at Seddon Park in Hamilton in a mid-table clash, both teams keen to gain ground on the leaders.
• The injury-troubled Devon Hotel Central Stags desperately want their first win when they host the second-placed Wellington Firebirds at Napier's McLean Park, but have lost their lead seamer.
All Plunket Shield matches are free entry four-day matches starting at 10.30am on Saturday 20 February.
Mondiale Auckland Aces v SBS Bank Otago Volts at Eden Park Outer Oval, Auckland
Mondiale Auckland Aces (one change, Lockie Ferguson returns from injury to come in for Michael Barry):
Rob Nicol (captain), Michael Bates, Brad Cachopa, Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson, Donovan Grobbelaar, Michael Guptill-Bunce, Shawn Hicks, Nathan McAndrew, Tarun Nethula, Robbie O'Donnell, Jeet Raval
SBS Bank Otago Volts (two changes, Rhys Phillips for Nathan McCullum, plus and Kitchen added as cover):
Hamish Rutherford (captain), Michael Bracewell, Neil Broom, Derek de Boorder, (w), Jacob Duffy, Jack Hunter, Anaru Kitchen, James Neesham, Rhys Phillips, Craig Smith, Christi Viljoen, Sam Wells, Brad Wilson
Anaru Kitchen has been added to the Volts' squad as cover for Hamish Rutherford. Rutherford was struck in the helmet during the Volts' win in round five and has been suffering some discomfort.
Devon Hotel Central Stags v Wellington Firebirds at McLean Park, Napier
Devon Hotel Central Stags (three changes):
Will Young (captain), Tom Bruce, Dane Cleaver (w), Liam Dudding, Greg Hay, Ajaz Patel, Mitchell Renwick, Kurt Richards, Bevan Small, Ben Smith, Blair Tickner, George Worker
Manawatu top order batsman Mitchell Renwick comes into the side for the first time replacing Dean Robinson, along with Hawke’s Bay medium fast bowlers Kurt Richards, playing for the first time since his debut match in the 2007/08 season, and Liam Dudding who will be on debut. Both come into the side on the back of strong performances for Hawke’s Bay in the Hawke Cup. Seth Rance is unavailable due to injury whilst Navin Patel is unavailable due to university commitments.
Wellington Firebirds (unchanged):
Michael Papps (captain), Brent Arnel, Matt Bacon, Tom Blundell (w), Scott Borthwick, Fraser Colson, Dane Hutchinson, Stephen Murdoch, Jeetan Patel, Luke Ronchi, Anurag Verma, Luke Woodcock
SKYCITY Northern Knights v Canterbury at Seddon Park, Hamilton
SKYCITY Northern Knights (no changes):
Daniel Flynn (captain), James Baker, Dean Brownlie, Joe Carter, Anton Devcich, Tony Goodin, Brett Hampton, Scott Kuggeleijn, Daryl Mitchell, Bharat Popli, Tim Seifert (w), Ish Sodhi
Canterbury (two changes, Ken McClure and Hamish Bennett for Cole McConchie and Will Williams):
Peter Fulton (captain), Todd Astle, Hamish Bennett, Chad Bowes, Leo Carter, Michael Davidson, Andrew Ellis, Cameron Fletcher (w), Kyle Jamieson, Tim Johnston, Ken McClure, Logan van Beek
