Side-strain sees Rance pad up for Greytown

Central Stags player Seth Rance will play for Greytown in their Bidwell Cup two-day cricket fixture with Red Star at Rathkeale Oval at the weekend, but only as a batsman.
Rance is recovering from a side-strain which occurred during a 21-over first innings bowling stint in the Stags' most recent Plunket Shield four-dayer against Wellington, a match the Stags won outright.
The injury means him sitting out the Stags' next Shield assignment against Auckland starting this weekend, but he will take the chance to hone his batting skills by turning out for Greytown.
Rance describes his side strain as ''pretty minor'' and believes the make-up of the Wellington batting line-up, with a number of left-handers, was probably the main reason for it.
''It meant a slight change in action for me and I think that's what did it, but a week's rest from bowling should hopefully do the trick,'' he said.
For Rance the 2009-10 season has already been a memorable one. He has become a regular selection for the Stags at Twenty20, one-day and four-day level and has performed encouragingly with bat and ball.
With the bat there have been a couple of half-centuries despite coming in at No9 or 10, and while there have been lean pickings wickets-wise in the last couple of Shield games, his overall take has been impressive.
''I guess I've played well enough to keep being selected, and that's always the the main objective,'' Rance said. Ask Rance his season's highlight and there is a quick answer _ being part of a Stags team which won the national Twenty20 competition and with it entry into the rich Indian champions league in September.
''Playing in front of big, noisy crowds is a huge buzz, I've never experienced anything like it before''.
Whether Rance will be part of the 15-man squad to travel to India has yet to be confirmed, but he is ''very hopeful'' of getting the nod.
Even before the Stags take to the field in India, the Central Districts association should pick up at least $140,000 judging on what last year's qualifiers Otago earned.
The initial fee paid to the New Zealand champions by India is shared between the six major associations here, with five of them receiving one-seventh of that fee and the winners _ in this case the Stags_ two-sevenths. The further they progress in the competition the bigger the financial rewards.
There is a strong possibility though that the Stags won't be at full strength in India, with three of their players _ Ross Taylor, Jacob Oram and Graham Napier _ required play for their Indian premier league sides if they happen to qualify for the champions league as well.