Round three of New Zealand’s first-class Plunket Shield is set to be the hottest yet with seven BLACKCAPS returning to super-charge their domestic teams.
A strong Northern Districts unit has sprung no fewer than four changes with Corey Anderson, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi and Anton Devcich all set to take on the red-hot Canterbury side — which also features BLACKCAP Henry Nicholls — in the first match this season at their fortress of Seddon Park, Hamilton.
Tim Southee bowls for Northern Districts. Image: Photosport
Entry to the Plunket Shield is free to all matches and further south it’s a chance to see Doug Bracewell (Central Stags) and Jimmy Neesham (Otago Volts) in action at the University of Otago Oval, while Martin Guptill returns to potentially open the batting alongside his cousin Michael Guptill-Bunce at Eden Park Outer Oval, where they will be up against competition leaders the Wellington Firebirds.
Martin Guptill bats for the Auckland Aces. Image: Photosport
In his first match back from India, Anton Devcich is stepping up to captain Northern Districts in the absence of regular skipper Daniel Flynn, who has been sidelined with a hip injury. Other notable returns this round include the Volts top order man Michael Bracewell, back from a broken finger that saw him miss the early games, while Napier’s Christian Leopard has been named in the Stags’ twelve — creating the possibility of a Stags and first-class debut for a talented young allrounder who’s been compared to a young Chris Harris. Leopard represented New Zealand at the ICC Under-19 World Cup earlier this year.
Jimmy Neesham bats for the Otago Volts. Image: Photosport
Plunket Shield leaders the Wellington Firebirds have opted for an unchanged side as they look to extend their early edge on table — if they can beat defending champions the Auckland Aces for a second time this season in their key return match at Eden Park Outer Oval. The Aces are coming off an exciting win at their home turf.
Christian Leopard. Image: Photosport
In Dunedin the Volts and Stags will both be hungry to get their first win on the board, meanwhile — each having suffered gutting near-misses in round two earlier this week.
Round THREE, Saturday 5 November to Tuesday 8 November 2016
All four-day matches begin at 10.30am
All matches are FREE ENTRY, gates open 10am
All matches are livescored at www.blackcaps.co.nz
Social hashtag: #PlunketShield
Auckland Aces v Wellington Firebirds at Eden Park Outer Oval
Auckland Aces: Rob Nicol (c), Cody Andrews, Brad Cachopa (wk), Mark Chapman, Colin de Grandhomme, Donovan Grobbelaar, Martin Guptill, Michael Guptill-Bunce, Shawn Hicks, Dane Hutchinson, Tarun Nethula, Jeet Raval. Coach: Mark O'Donnell
Wellington Firebirds: Michael Papps (c), Brent Arnel, Hamish Bennett, Tom Blundell (wk), Matt McEwan, Iain McPeake, Hamish Marshall, Stephen Murdoch, Jeetan Patel, Michael Pollard, Matt Taylor, Luke Woodcock. Coach: Bruce Edgar
Northern Districts v Canterbury at Seddon Park
Northern Districts: Anton Devcich (c), Corey Anderson, James Baker, Dean Brownlie, Joe Carter Zak Gibson, Scott Kuggeleijn, Daryl Mitchell, Bharat Popli, Tim Seifert (wk), Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee. Coach: James Pamment
Canterbury: Andrew Ellis (c), Todd Astle, Michael Davidson, Cam Fletcher (wk), Peter Fulton, Kyle Jamieson, Tim Johnston, Ken McClure, Cole McConchie, Henry Nicholls, Ed Nuttall, Henry Shipley. Coach: Gary Stead
Otago Volts v Central Stags at University of Otago Oval
Otago Volts: Brad Wilson (c), Michael Bracewell, Neil Broom, Derek de Boorder (wk), Jacob Duffy, Josh Finnie, Anaru Kitchen, Jimmy Neesham, Hamish Rutherford, Christi Viljoen, Neil Wagner, Sam Wells. Coach: Rob Walter
Central Stags: Will Young (c), Doug Bracewell, Tom Bruce, Dane Cleaver (wk), Liam Dudding, Greg Hay, Christian Leopard, Ajaz Patel, Navin Patel, Mitch Renwick, Ben Smith, Blair Tickner. Coach: Heinrich Malan
