Seven rounds completed, just three rounds to come and the unbeaten Mondiale Auckland Aces are looming large in the Plunket Shield, brought to you by Budget Rental.
With tension mounting, round eight in the country's fiercely fought first-class competition begins tomorrow in Hamilton, Christchurch and Dunedin. Frontrunners the Aces need to close out their trophy hunt on the road for their remaining three encounters, but they have gone a heady five wins from seven so far, their other results a draw.
The Aucklanders are coming off a noteworthy outright against the Devon Hotel Central Stags which saw three Aces batsmen score centuries — Michael Guptill-Bunce (maiden), Jeet Raval and Robbie O'Donnell; and — remarkably, two spinners claiming 11 wickets for the match: Tarun Nethula (for the Aces) and Ajaz Patel (Stags), on an Eden Park Outer Oval surface that played truer than its green first day covering had suggested.
The Stags celebrate another wicket for left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel in Auckland
Following that statsfest, the Stags' Ajaz Patel (on 31) currently requires just three more wickets to draw level with the top wicket-taker in the Plunket Shield this season.
SKYCITY Northern Knight Scott Kuggeleijn heads the table with 34, but was injured at the Basin Reserve in round seven and has been ruled out of the forthcoming round. The Devon Hotel Central Stags have meanwhile lost George Worker to a broken hand.
Productive Bharat Popli. Photosport
SKYCITY Northern Knight Bharat Popli (704) meanwhile tops the run aggregates with three rounds to go and requires a further 296 runs from a maximum possible six innings to score 1000 runs in a season.
Round eight
SKYCITY Northern Knights v Devon Hotel Central Stags at Seddon Park, Hamilton
SKYCITY Northern Knights (one change: fresh from winning the Hawke Cup with Bay of Plenty on Sunday, Brett Hampton comes in for injured Scott Kuggeleijn): Daniel Flynn (captain), James Baker, Dean Brownlie, Anton Devcich, Zak Gibson, Tony Goodin, Brett Hampton, Daryl Mitchell, Bharat Popli, Tim Seifert, Joe Walker, BJ Watling
Devon Hotel Central Stags (three changes, Doug Bracewell, Liam Dudding and Dean Robinson come in for Navin Patel (unavailable), Kurt Richards (unavailable) and George Worker who has been ruled out with a broken hand): Will Young (captain), Doug Bracewell, Tom Bruce, Dane Cleaver (w), Liam Dudding, Greg Hay, Ajaz Patel, Mitch Renwick, Dean Robinson, Bevan Small, Ben Smith, Blair Tickner
Canterbury v Wellington Firebirds at Hagley Oval, Christchurch
Canterbury (unchanged): Peter Fulton (captain), Todd Astle, Hamish Bennett, Chad Bowes, Leo Carter, Michael Davidson, Andrew Ellis, Cameron Fletcher (w), Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Tim Johnston, Ken McClure
Wellington Firebirds (one change, Anurag Verma in for the injured Dane Hutchinson):
Michael Papps (captain), Brent Arnel, Matt Bacon, Tom Blundell (w), Scott Borthwick, Fraser Colson, Iain McPeake, Stephen Murdoch, Jeetan Patel, Michael Pollard, Anurag Verma, Luke Woodcock
SBS Bank Otago Volts v Mondiale Auckland Aces at University Oval, Dunedin
SBS Bank Otago Volts (one change, Ryan Duffy for the unavailable Neil Broom): Michael Bracewell, Mark Craig, Derek de Boorder, (w), Jacob Duffy, Ryan Duffy, Jack Hunter, Anaru Kitchen, James Neesham, Craig Smith, Blair Soper, Christi Viljoen, Brad Wilson (captain)
Mondiale Auckland Aces (unchanged): Michael Bates (captain), Brad Cachopa, Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson, Donovan Grobbelaar, Michael Guptill-Bunce, Shawn Hicks, Tarun Nethula, Robbie O'Donnell, Matt Quinn, Brett Randell, Jeet Raval
Jeet Raval
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