It’s a fresh start for the Central Stags who have named the first team of the season.
The 2022/23 Premier League Plunket Shield Championship begins tomorrow at Nelson’s Saxton Oval, but the Stags will miss regular captain, fly-half and Nelson’s representative Greg Hay whose arm was broken by a searing delivery into the net. training two weeks ago.
Captaining the team in place of Hay for the first time will be NZC National Player of the Year and regular white ball skipper Tom Bruce. Bruce will become the team’s 44th captain first class.
Bruce’s astonishing run of runs in last summer’s Plunket Shield saw him become the first player to score two consecutive unbeaten centuries, finishing with a colossal average of 143.00.
Along with wicketkeeper Dane Cleaver, Bruce recently returned from the New Zealand A tour of India where he made his first class captaincy debut for NZ A, and says leading the Stags at Saxton Oval in a first-class game will be another special moment in his career.
“It is an absolute privilege to be able to lead the four-day team, although we are all very sorry for Greg after his unfortunate injury.
“It’s a great opportunity to lead a quality team and, for me personally, a chance to complete the New Zealand A tour where I learned a lot about captaincy in those two games.
“It’s a big challenge there, there was a lot to decipher and also a lot more time to simmer your decisions.”
Bruce was set to make his debut as captain first class for the Central Stags in November 2016 when then-captain Will Young was unavailable for a game at Basin Reserve. Then the Kaikoura earthquake hit and led to the game being canceled.
Bruce will lead the side in the first four matches this summer, and was New Zealand’s top scorer in Plunket Shield last season with 858 runs across eight rounds, while top wicket-taker with 31 at a nice average of just 14.23 was Brett Randell for the Northern Districts.
The aggressive pacemaker is now a Central Stags acquisition and is set to become number 305 in the Central Stags cap if selected in the starting XI at 10am tomorrow when the draw is made against Canterbury.
BLACKCAPS Ajaz Patel, Will Young, Cleaver, Blair Tickner and Doug Bracewell bring plenty of style and experience to a strong Stags side looking to gain an early advantage in the four rounds leading up to Christmas. The remaining four matches will take place later this summer, following The Ford Trophy and Dream11 Super Smash campaigns.
Despite losing just two games – fewer losses than any eventual champions Auckland Aces and runners-up Canterbury – the Stags finished fifth in last year’s campaign after a string of draws and a match canceled due to an outbreak of Omicron in the opposition side.
With a maximum of 20 points on the table per round, Bruce hopes the team will have more opportunities this season to claim crucial game-breaking results.
“We have twelve solid players for the first game of the season and, with players like Ajaz and Youngy coming out of county cricket, and Dane and myself having been in India, we are looking to get going.
“Canterbury will also bring a strong team and we always know we are ready for a good battle against them. We are looking forward to it.
Bruce says the team is still looking forward to returning to Saxton Oval.
“It’s a fantastic ground with great facilities and we’ve had some great close battles and results here over the past few seasons where it always seems to go to the wire, until the last session of the last day.”
This included beating Canterbury by 145 runs, with Ryan McCone taking the winning wicket with just one overshoot remaining in the game in October 2018.
Tomorrow’s game will be Tickner’s 50th first class selection for the Stags if he is selected in the playing XI. Seth Rance, his fellow Central Stags hitter, is not available until the white ball season this year .
Entry to all four days of the Plunket Shield match is free, and for those who can’t be there, watch the free livestream and live scores at www.cdcricket.co.nz from 10.30am each day.
PLUNKET SHIELD
First round, 2022/23
Central Stags v Canterbury
Saxton Oval, Stoke, Nelson
10:30 a.m., from Tuesday 18 to Friday 21 October 2022
CENTRAL DEER SQUAD
Tom Bruce (c) – Taranaki, RH drummer, off-spin bowler
Doug Bracewell – Hawke’s Bay, HR rhythm allrounder
Josh Clarkson – Nelson, HR Rhythm Allrounder
Dane Cleaver (w) – Manawatu, RH wicket-beater keeper
Ajaz Patel – Hawke’s Bay, LH off-spin bowler
Brett Randell – ex-Northern Districts, RH rhythm allrounder
Brad Schmulian – Hawke’s Bay, RH drummer, leg thrower
Ben Smith – Whanganui, HR Drummer
Blair Tickner – Hawke’s Bay, HR Rhythm Thrower
Ray Toole – Manawatu, LH Rhythm Thrower
Bayley Wiggins – Hawke’s Bay, HR batsman, wicketkeeper
Will Young – Taranaki, right-handed drummer
Players unavailable for selection
Seth Rance — Wairarapa
Greg Hay—Nelson (injury)
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