The way this tournament has evolved so far has been fascinating in terms of its dynamics as they stand. Teams such as the Central Districts, who play in this game, have made strong comebacks and it will be a challenging job to select a clear favourite team.
The Central Districts had played 2 games going into this game, winning one and losing one match and put in the points table at the third position. In the only game they’ve played in, their rivals, Auckland, have one loss to their credit. But this tournament seems to be in the comeback season, as stated earlier, and it would not surprise anyone if Auckland were to make a remarkable comeback in this game.
Weather
On Thursday, partly cloudy skies are predicted to prevail with no chance of rainfall and temperatures around the 19 degrees Celsius level.
Pitch
The batsmen dominated the game in the total of the first innings in the last match played at this tournament venue, but when it came to the second innings, the bowlers took control and the team batting second could not chase down the total. And in this match too, the same conduct is likely to be continued.
Playing XIs:
Central Districts:
Tom Bruce (c), Dane Cleaver (wk), George Worker, Bayley Wiggins, Josh Clarkson, Kieran Noema-Barnett, Blair Tickner, Christian Leopard, Joey Field, Ajaz Patel, Doug Bracewell
Auckland Aces:
Robert O’Donnell (c), Ben Horne (wk), Graeme Beghin, Danru Ferns, Ben Lister, William O’Donnell, Will Somerville, Ollie Pringle, Brad Rodden, Sean Solia, Glenn Phillips
Central Districts vs Auckland Aces Dream 11:
Doug Bracewell (c), Ben Horne (wk), Glenn Phillips (wk), Christian Leopard, Robert O’Donnel, William O’Donnel, George Worker, Danru Ferns, Joey Field, Blair Tickner, Will Somerville
Both teams are pretty good on paper, but Auckland batsmen have not managed to get big scores, which Central Districts have managed to do. Central Districts are our favourites to win the game.