The Plunket Shield is the final NZC domestic trophy on offer this season and the top three contenders are all coming off a win in the previous round, leaders the Wellington Firebirds maintaining a slim, three-point margin over the Central Stags.
All six teams, in fact, head into this round with the same rank they had held heading into the previous round and, despite sitting in second spot on the table, the Stags remain the only unbeaten team while the third-placed Auckland Aces will be eager to gain ground on them as the two sides go head to head at the Aces' Eden Park Outer Oval fortress from tomorrow morning.
Veteran Stags opening batsman and first-class specialist Greg Hay heads into the match as the competition's leading run-scorer after having scored a half century or better in every first-class match this summer. Coming off an unbeaten 134 (the sole century of Round Six), Hay has 585 runs at a batting average of 65.00 including two centuries and four half-centuries, and is well placed to exceed his previous best first-class season aggregate of 632 (2014/15, 10 matches, 18 innings, one century, three half-centuries).
Tim Seifert's form has extended to all formats this summer. PHOTOSPORT
Northern Districts' Tim Seifert is second on the batting table with 524 runs at 47.63 (one century, two half-centuries, requiring a further 101 runs for his best season).
Central Stag Jesse Ryder is third with 509 runs at 84.83 (two centuries, two half-centuries), one run ahead of Wellington Firebirds veteran Michael Papps (508 runs at 63.50, one triple century) who now sits on11,988 runs from his overall first-class career.
Firebirds veteran Michael Papps is closing in on his 12,000th run. PHOTOSPORT
It was a ball from Garrett, a right-arm medium fast bowler, that broke Canterbury captain Andrew Ellis's hand in the first preseason warm-up game of 2017/18 at Hagley's Nursery Ground. Garrett previously played in the Wellington region before making his Canterbury A debut this season against the West Indies Under-19s.
Eden Park Outer Oval - starts Friday
AUCKLAND ACES
Current ranking: 3
++ Allen, Ferns
- - Michael Barry, Craig Cachopa
CENTRAL STAGS
Current ranking: 2
+++ Wheeler, McCone, Worker
NORTHERN DISTRICTS
Current ranking: 4
++ Kelly, Hampton
CANTERBURY
Current ranking: 6
OTAGO VOLTS v WELLINGTON FIREBIRDS
University of Otago Oval, Dunedin - starts Saturday
OTAGO VOLTS
Current ranking: 5
Rob Nicol (c), Neil Broom, Mark Craig, Derek de Boorder (wk), Jacob Duffy, Shawn Hicks, Anaru Kitchen, Jimmy Neesham, Michael Rae, Michael Rippon, Hamish Rutherford, Neil Wagner, Brad Wilson
WELLINGTON FIREBIRDS
Current ranking: 1
