Top duo returning for game

There is a lot more than pride to play for in Ashburton this weekend when Otago Country takes on home side Mid Canterbury.

The visiting side sits on 20 points with this game left for it in the Hawke Cup zone four elimination competition. This follows an outright win over last season’s Hawke Cup holder, North Otago, and a first-innings win over South Canterbury. Otago  will lament the agonising last-minute outright loss to Southland when it almost pulled off an unlikely draw. Southland has won the zone four competition with a game to play.

That aside, the Fraser Wilson-led Otago Country side has been extremely competitive in all its games so far and travels to Ashburton with some confidence. The Mid Canterbury side has yet to register a point in the competition so far but the side is  a different beast on its home track.

The Otago Country selectors have made two changes for this game, James Pyle and Tom Myles replacing Drew van Boxtel and Liam Cotton. It has resisted making too many changes.

Myles, who is returning from injury, has been one of the Otago Country’s top bowlers over the last couple of seasons and will add a little sting to the attack while the addition of the experienced James Pyle should help shore up the batting. It is a welcome return for Pyle, who has not played a lot over the past few years while establishing business interests and starting a family.  

- Malcolm Jones

 

Hawke Cup

Otago Country v Mid Canterbury

Otago Country: Fraser Wilson (captain), Jonathon Homer, Henry Burns, Dan Edwards, Tim McCormick, Jarred Andrew, James Pyle, Barry White, Swaran Sandhu, Sam Blakely, Tom Myles.

Mid Canterbury: Bevan Ravenscroft (captain), Deon Biggs, Ryan Cockburn, Callum Gallagher, Nick Gilbert, Bo Houston, Des Kruger, Hayden Sinclair, James Southby, William Southby, Matt Winter.

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