Wairarapa will very probably be without Marcus Daniell when they look to defend the Adidas Cup at the inter-provincial tennis tournament to be played at the Masterton Tennis Centre this weekend.
The hugely-talented Daniell is keen to continue his association with the Wairarapa side but his availability depends on his performances
at a professional tournament being played in Christchurch this week.
News yesterday was that he was doing well there, good news for Daniell himself of course but not so good for Wairarapa.
But while selector Steve Hurley freely admitted Daniell's absence would hurt his team's chances of again beating Manawatu, Wanganui and Taranaki in the Adidas Cup tourney he was still confident of them giving a decent account of themselves.
"Obviously we a are lot stronger with Marcus than without him but that doesn't mean we can't do well if he's not there," Hurley said. "In that case others have to step up, that's what sport is all about."
If Daniell does not play Jono Hurley will assume the No.1 spot in the men's singles for Wairarapa and the former Wellington rep is sure to give as good as he receives.
Just what the playing order under him will be is, however, more difficult to predict with Steve Chapman, Luke Atkinson, Chris Schofield, Matt Spooner, Jeff Janse and Kelby Courtney all in the reckoning for the other three places.
Normally the experienced Spooner would be a "shoo in" for a singles berth but he is still in the early stages of recovering from a wrist injury, a situation which may see selector Hurley confine him to doubles play.
The reliable Katie Wyeth will again head the women's section for Wairarapa with Ashleigh Gane, Natasha Robinson, Sade Atkinson, Zoe Schofield and Libby Paterson in support.
Two rounds of matches will be played tomorrow with the third and final round scheduled for Sunday morning.
