The Central Districts teams and their Whanganui representatives will resume their red and white ball cricket tomorrow morning on opposite sides of the association's catchment.
The Stags, currently second on the four-day Plunket Shield table with a 1-1-1 record, take on Northern Districts at Napier's McLean Park, while in the 50-over Hallyburton Johnstone Shield, the fourth-placed Hinds (3-1-3) meet the Canterbury Magicians in two games at New Plymouth's Pukekura Park.
Hawke's Bay off-spinner Jayden Lennox is the newcomer in the Stags lineup, which includes Unreal Grass Wicket Wanganui batsman Ben Smith and fellow Whanganui Collegiate old boy Tom Bruce (Taranaki).
Lennox joins the 12-man squad with the Black Caps callup of Ajaz Patel.
The Stags are the reigning two-time national champions in this format, and are on a quest to become the first team since 1940 to make a three-peat.
Smith is currently fifth in the overall batting stakes with 187 runs in the first half of the season, while Bruce is eighth with 167.
In the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield, the reigning champion Hinds need to win both games against the Magicians, while hoping table leaders the Northern Spirit also beat the Auckland Hearts twice, in order to make the Grand Final.
The 16-year-old Manawatū allrounder Ashtuti Kumar is in line to make her Hinds debut in this format after previously placing in the Dream11 Super Smash earlier in the summer, coming in for White Fern Rosemary Mair.
She joins a team that includes Whanganui's former White Fern Jess Watkin, and her association team mates Kerry Tomlinson and Esther Lanser.
Watkin is currently third on the runs table with 333.
Jess Watkin
Both games tomorrow start at 10.30am, while Sunday's Hinds game begins at 10am.
The Plunket Shield game carries on till Tuesday.
Central Stags squad
Round 4 v Northern Districts McLean Park, Napier 10.30am, Saturday 22-Tuesday 25 February 2020
Greg Hay – captain — Nelson Tom Bruce – Taranaki Dane Cleaver – Manawatū Jayden Lennox – Hawke's Bay — potential first-class debut Willem Ludick – Nelson Seth Rance – Wairarapa Brad Schmulian – Hawke's Bay Ben Smith – Whanganui Blair Tickner – Hawke's Bay Ray Toole – Manawatū George Worker – Manawatū Will Young – Taranaki
Coach — Aldin Smith
Unavailable for selection Doug Bracewell, Ben Wheeler, Ben Stoyanoff, Ajaz Patel, Ross Taylor, Adam Milne, Bevan Small, Kieran Noema-Barnett
