Nicol says Aces 'still in the race'

Media Release

Monday 13 March 2017

After having the majority of their pink ball fixture washed out, the Auckland Aces are looking to get back to winning ways when they face Northern Districts at Eden Park Outer Oval in Round Eight of the Plunket Shield starting tomorrow.

The Auckland side is largely unchanged with Raja Sandhu back in the XII after making his debut against Central Districts earlier this year.

Northern sit in second place on the Plunket Shield ladder while the Aces are in fourth but skipper Rob Nicol says his side are just one win away.

“We are still in the race, we just want to create wins now, the team are looking forward to the four days coming up and trying to get over the line,” Nicol says.

He says the side have been preparing well and are well aware of the dangers Northern posses, especially the likes of Ish Sodhi with the ball and Corey Anderson with the bat.

Nicol is also happy to have internationals Lockie Ferguson and Mitch McClenaghan at his disposal at the bowling crease.

“Those two are a big part of our group and have done really well with higher honours so when they come back it’s a chance for them to try and do something for us in a winning performance. Hopefully we have four days to work with and the weather plays ball,” Nicol says.

“We have a good depth of squad with young guys having a crack in all forms. Guys like Ben Horne are a good example of that, he’s been around the environment for a while, and was unlucky not to get the 100 in the last match. He’s been gloving well, he brings plenty of energy in the field,” Nicol says.

With nearly 100mm of rain falling at Eden Park over the weekend, the ground staff have been working overtime to get the outfield and pitch ready for play tomorrow.

The Auckland Aces take on Northern Districts at Eden Park Outer Oval in the Plunket Shield, first ball at 10:30am.

ALSO: Make sure you follow us on social media for behind the scenes action and updates.
Search ‘Auckland Cricket’ to follow us on Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter and Instagram.

Auckland Aces
Mark Chapman
Lockie Ferguson
Donovan Grobbelaar
Michael Guptill-Bunce
Ben Horne
Mitchell McClenaghan
Tarun Nethula
Rob Nicol (c)
Robbie O’Donnell
Glenn Phillips
Raja Sandhu
Sean Solia
*Colin Munro unavailable for selection

ENDS

© Scoop Media