Aces head to Napier with plenty to play for

Aces head to Napier with plenty to play for

Tuesday 28 March 2017

The Auckland Aces welcome back the experience of Donovan Grobbelaar and youthful exuberance of Aniket Parikh as two changes to the side heading to Napier for the final Plunket Shield fixture of the season against Central Districts.

The Aces head into the final round with plenty to play for after dominant performances against Northern Districts and Otago; they sit in second spot on the ladder just eight points behind Canterbury.

Coach Mark O’Donnell is pleased with how the team has tracked over the past couple of matches.

“We went down [to Dunedin] and played some good cricket, to have done it in three days was an absolute bonus and it’s very rewarding to go into the last game where you’re in with a chance if you win,” says O’Donnell.

Colin Munro was again in sublime touch in Dunedin scoring yet another century and the Aces will be looking to him to lead from the front in Napier.

“In two of his last three games he has gone hundred, hundred and hundred, so you will always take that. While with the ball he is very useful, he has a good wrist so it’s all part of a good package. He just needs to keep doing it and put pressure on so next time there’s a chance in a longer format game he can get picked,” says O’Donnell.

With Lockie Ferguson and Mitchell McClenaghan resting after heavy workloads, the Aces will also look to their young guns to once again step up.

“It’s an advantage that [Sandhu and Parikh] have had some game time this season already. It’s up to the senior guys in must win games to stand up and perform and the youngsters to come in around them and do the job they are picked for,” says O’Donnell.

“Nothing much changes, both teams have strong batting line ups and both teams have bowlers out either resting or with injury, it should be interesting and hopefully they want a game of cricket too,” he says.

The Auckland Aces take on the Central Stags at McLean Park in Napier tomorrow, first ball 10:30am.

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Auckland Aces
Mark Chapman
Michael Guptill-Bunce
Donovan Grobbelaar
Ben Horne
Colin Munro
Tarun Nethula
Rob Nicol (c)
Robbie O’Donnell
Aniket Parikh
Glenn Phillips
Raja Sandhu
Sean Solia
*Lockie Ferguson and Mitchell McClenaghan not available for selection due to high work loads.

ends

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