New pitch to be put to test in Horowhenua vs Wanganui cricket match

Horowhenua-Kapiti Bears player-coach Chad Law is keeping his selection for the Furlong Cup under his hat for now.

Horowhenua-Kapiti player coach Chad Law has taken the deliberate move of not naming a team to take on Wanganui at Donnelly Park for their Furlong Cup two-day match, starting tomorrow.

And he won't, not until the last minute.

The match will be the first representative game played on a new pitch outside the recently-built pavilion at the ground, with an upstairs function centre opening up to a balcony on which players could watch the match.

Law said he was still unsure on a couple of selections for the match due to the new pitch, like whether to include another seamer or a spinner, and would leave that decision until late in the piece.

"We're training tonight and were just going to hold off, pending a couple of things. We're not sure how the pitch is going to play so we'll wait and see," he said.

"Sometimes it can take up to three years for a new pitch to settle but there have been some decent scores in the four club games that have been played on it so everyone is pretty happy.

"We're hoping it plays all right. It's an unknown but early signs are that it's pretty positive and will get better and better hopefully."

Meanwhile, Law said his side had taken a swag of confidence from their rare first innings victory against Hawke's Bay late last year.

It was the first time in 20 years that Horowhenua-Kapiti had beaten Hawke's Bay in a Furlong Cup match, and just the second time since the competition began.

Law said the points were deserved as Hawke's Bay had their full complement of five Central Districts Stags players on the field so could offer no excuse for the defeat.