Cleaver, who already has a ton against Wairarapa to his name, has been troubled over the past year or so by a back injury which was bad enough for him to give up his usual wicketkeeping role and while his back is still not 100 per cent it clearly isn't hampering his batting.
Wairarapa's win over Wellington City had to be a confidence booster even if Wellington City did not provide the level of opposition expected of them. At 84-5 Wairarapa were precariously placed when batting first but the middle order of Paul Lyttle (59), Seth Rance (39) and Liam Burling (30) got them through to a competitive 224.
Lyttle and Rance are no strangers to this level of play but Rathkeale College pupil Burling was having his first game for Wairarapa in senior ranks and the province's under-17 skipper impressed, both with his stroke play and his cool temperament.
It was no surprise then to see him retained for this Sunday's match where he will confront a Manawatu attack likely to be spearheaded by such proven campaigners as Mason, Phil Mecredy and Arana Noema-Barnett. There will, however, be changes at the top of the Wairarapa batting order for the Manawatu game. Joining Jamie Holmes in the opening role will be Harry Clinton-Baker with George Deans likely to be at three, skipper Henry Cameron at four, Sam Curtis at five and then a mix of Lyttle, wicketkeeper Robbie Speers, Rance and Burling.
Deans and Curtis missed the Wellington City fixture but their form beforehand warrants their return.
Clinton-Baker's elevation to the opening spot is interesting. The talented youngster is one of those players who generally takes time to build an innings and he could be the perfect foil to Holmes, who likes to go for his shots right from the outset.
The Wairarapa bowlers did a fine job to restrict Wellington City to 170 last weekend. They conceded just eight wides to Wellington City's 19 and 20 fewer extras overall.
Rance, Stefan Hook-Sporry, Sean Jarvis and Calvin Ball will again provide the pace attack with Holmes, Cameron and Curtis capable of providing spin if variety is required.
There seems little doubt the Manawatu batting line-up will take the battle to the Wairarapa bowlers in a much more direct manner than Wellington City and how they respond to that challenge is sure to have a big say in the end result.
The Tararua Shield will have no impact player-wise on matches in the Umpires Cup limited-overs competition this weekend as they are scheduled for tomorrow. Rathkeale College and Lansdowne will do battle at Rathkeale, Wairarapa College will take on Copper Kettle Kuranui Old Boys at Wairarapa College and Turkey Red Greytown will confront Red Star at Greytown.
