Aces announce side for first round of Plunket Shield

MEDIA RELEASE
Thursday, 1 November 2012
The twelve Aces players named for their first round Plunket Shield clash starting on Sunday against the Central Stags has a familiar look to it with the most notable inclusion being the return of Lou Vincent to New Zealand first class cricket.

Vincent was present for the Aces Champions League campaign in South Africa and along with the rest of the side will face the task of making the quick transition from twenty20 to four day cricket.

Aces coach Paul Strang sees the side's time in South Africa as having some real benefits for the team as they head into the Plunket Shield.

"The fact that we've had a number of weeks on grass tracks and played some really competitive cricket I think is a huge plus for us. The biggest thing now is to change that mindset over from T20 to the four day game but we've been busy on that aspect as well."

The Aces were bumped into third place on the final day of the Plunket Shield last season and will be looking to carry across the kind of form that they've displayed in the short formats of the game in recent seasons.

The Aces start their Plunket Shield campaign in Napier against the Stags on Sunday (Nov 4-7) before they play their first home game of the season at Eden Park from 10-13 November.

The twelve from which a side will be chosen is as follows:

Gareth Hopkins (Captain)
Michael Bates
Colin de Grandhomme
Anaru Kitchen
Mitchell McClenaghan
Tim McIntosh
Bruce Martin
Chris Martin
Colin Munro
Bhupinder Singh
Lou Vincent
Reece Young

ENDS

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