Taylor to play first Super Smash game in four years
BLACKCAPS legend Ross Taylor is set to play his first Dream11 Super Smash game in four years under the new lights at Hagley Oval tomorrow evening.
The batting star has been added to an otherwise unchanged Central Stags squad that smashed a new University of Otago Oval ground record yesterday in a classy 53-run win over the Otago Volts.
It was the third time in the space of four games this season that the Stags had blasted a 200-plus total onto the scoreboard, after two big days out at Pukekura Park just before New Year's.
George Worker had posted 70s in both of those games, and yesterday became just the fourth Stag to celebrate a T20 century - joining Taylor (111 not out at Seddon Park in 2007/08), Mahela Jayawardena (116 at Pukekura in 2016/17) and Jamie How (102 at Pukekura in 2011/12).
Stand-in captain Worker is the runaway top run-scorer nationally and underpinned a tremendous effort by the Stags after he had been sent in by Volts skipper Jacob Duffy, supplemented by an assured half century from BLACKCAP Will Young in his first T20 for the Stags this season.
Stags paceman Blair Tickner is meanwhile joint top wicket-taker with eight victims, just ahead of teammate Joey Field on seven.
Anlo van Deventer meanwhile returns to the injury-hit Central Hinds for the first match on the historic day at Hagley tomorrow, against the Canterbury Magicians.
The match will be Hinds co-captain Jess Watkin’s 50th T20 appearance for the side with her side looking to lift their campaign through the back half of the regular season.
Both matches will be streamed on Spark Sport.
Regular Stags captain Tom Bruce remains on paternity leave.
DOUBLEHEADER
Hagley Oval, Christchurch
Sunday 10 January 2021
CENTRAL HINDS
v Canterbury Magicians at 3.40PM
Hannah Rowe — co-captain — Manawatu
Jess Watkin — co-captain — Manawatu
Georgia Atkinson — Manawatu
Emily Cunningham — Taranaki
Natalie Dodd — wicketkeeper — Taranaki
Kate Gaging — Nelson
Claudia Green — Nelson
Melissa Hansen — Wairarapa
Ashtuti Kumar — Manawatu
Kerry Tomlinson — Hawke’s Bay
Monique Rees — Wairarapa
Anlo van Deventer — Wairarapa
Coach: Jamie Watkins
CENTRAL STAGS
v Canterbury Kings at 7.10pm
• First T20 under lights at Hagley Oval
George Worker — captain — Manawatu
Doug Bracewell — Hawke’s Bay
Josh Clarkson — Nelson
Dane Cleaver — wicketkeeper — Manawatu
Joey Field — Hawke’s Bay
Jayden Lennox — uncapped — Hawke’s Bay
Christian Leopard — Hawke’s Bay
Kieran Noema-Barnett — Hawke’s Bay
Ajaz Patel — BLACKCAPS
Ross Taylor — BLACKCAPS
Blair Tickner — Hawke’s Bay
Bayley Wiggins — Hawke’s Bay
Will Young — BLACKCAPS
Coach: Aldin Smith
Assistant Coach: Dion Ebrahim
