Difficult assignment for Central Districts

Press, 28 November 1980, Page 26

Difficult assignment for Central Districts

Central Districts has a difficult assignment in the Rothman’s under-23 cricket tournament which will start in Christchurch on Sunday. Central has won. six times’ in the 19 years of this prestige event, it has taken, the. title in each of the last three seasons. So it has the burden of reputation. In common with the other teams, however, Central has in its side a strong complement of players who were in the tournament last year — six. Moreover, it has four players with’first-class experience, more than any-of the other teams.

There are 15 players in the tournament who have played first-class matches. The most experienced -side' is Otago, runner-up. to Central last summer.‘lt has seven of the 1979 side and also .■ hasGerald Cummins, . who played for the Canterbury

team in the most recent tournament. Northern Districts has seven of last year’s side back again, Auckland has six, Canterbury arid Wellington five each. Each team will play three two-day matches. On Sunday and Monday, the pitches will be at Hagley Oval and the Christ’s College ground; on the . next two days all teams will play at Burnham, and the final matches are set down for Hagley Oval and Christ’s College. The competing teams are.—' ’ . iNoethern . Districts: B. Cooper (captain), R. Broughton, A. Chandler, L. Crocker, I. Campbell, W- Fowler, M. Harding, C. Lapwood, B. .Marshall, C. Nielsen, C. Presland, D. White. Auckland: T. Hellaby (captain), J. -Ackland,' R. Aitkin, D. Alabaster. P. Bell, I. Fisher, T. . Franklin, P.

Horne, A. Hunt, P. Kelly, C. Postles, N. Scott. Central Districts: S. Briasco (captain), W. Hodgson,, A. Jones, A. Blain, S. O’Dowd, G. McKenzie, K. Whyte, G. Robertson, D. McDonald. B. Thomas, N. Brooke, C. Jayasiriga. Canterbury: R. Leggat (captain), V. Brown. A. Bligh, D. Boyle, M. Chamberlain, A. Devlin, D. Farrant, G. Kench, R. Latham, S. McNally, G. Neilson, P. Rattray. Wellington: P. Holland (captain), A. Nathu, R. Hart, R. Reid, ; D. Oakley, .P. McMahon, D. Barndon, J. Milne, S. McGuinness, M. Hayman,.. T. Vogel, P. Stoyanoff. Otago: G. Blakely (captain), P. Hills, K. Bums, R. Hoskin,: J.’ Gordon, S. Harrop, B. Blair, D. McEwan, G. Smith, G. McManus, D, - Walker, G. Cummins. <