James named for cup cricket games

Lansdowne all-rounder Robin James has recovered sufficiently from his hamstring problems to be named in the Wairarapa senior men's cricket team for their Hawke Cup elimination and Chapple Cup one-day matches against Taranaki at Queen Elizabeth Park over the next three days.
The Hawke Cup game will be played tomorrow and Saturday and the Chapple Cup fixture on Sunday.
James has been a regular in the Wairarapa squad this season but he missed last weekend's club action because of hamstring soreness in both legs and there were doubts about his availability to play Taranaki. His absence would have been a big blow for Wairarapa as he is capable of making a big impact with bat and ball.
In the absence of Dean van Deventer, who is overseas, James is now likely to open the bowling and he will probably bat at number seven, just below Robbie Anderson, who has retained his position in the side despite a strong challenge from the consistent Red Star batsman Joe Hull.
Wairarapa captain Sam Curtis is "pretty optimistic" Wairarapa will come up with the first innings points they desperately need to keep their hopes of challenging for the Hawke Cup alive.
He said the onus would be on the top order batsmen to take full advantage of what was likely to be a batter-friendly oval pitch, just as they did last year when Curtis and Brad Edwards had an opening stand of 180 against Taranaki and paved the way for a first innings lead.
"They (Taranaki) are again probably going to be a lot stronger in their batting than their bowling and we have to take advantage of that,"Curtis said. "A big first innings score is vital and that's what we will be looking for."
Central Districts A rep Seth Rance will spearhead the Wairarapa attack and Curtis is hopeful he can continue a trend of being a regular first innings wicket-taker
Curtis is also anticipating the park oval pitch taking some turn as the Hawke Cup match progresses into its second day and he sees spinners Paul Bracewell and Brad Edwards coming into their own late in the game when that starts to happen.
"I think the spinners might have plenty of work to do on the second day, they could be bowling a lot of overs," he said.
As to the Chapple Cup match , Curtis is determined his side will show sharp improvement in a competition in which they have fared poorly over the past couple of seasons. "On the face of it we have a side which should thrive in the limited-overs game and we haven't done that," Curtis said. "This is the chance to put things right and we have to take it.".
The likely Wairarapa squad for the Taranaki matches is: Sam Curtis, Brad Edwards Alex Treseder, Simon Butler, Henry Cameron, Robbie Anderson, Robin James, Seth Rance, Dane Buchanan, Duncan Didsbury, Paul Bracewell, Daniel Ingham.