Canterbury Kings vs Central Stags | Preview, Prediction

Central Stags are confident going into their third game after winning two of their first two. On the other hand, Canterbury will be looking to correct the mistakes that cost them the first match. The Kings will play on their home turf in Christchurch, but they are not in the driver's seat, owing to the opposition's current form.

In Canterbury's first match, which they lost by 27 runs to Wellington, there was no such standout individual performance. Ed Nuttall took three wickets for them, which was a good sign.

The focus is on the Central Stags, who have won their last two games with relative ease. Their batters are also in good form, as evidenced by their ability to chase well in the first match and put up a solid total and defend it in the second. If there's one thing they need to work on, it's their bowling. Their bowling has some flaws when compared to their batting.

Tom Bruce and Josh Clarkson have fifties in their previous encounter against the Wellington Firebirds. Dane Cleaver has a hundred to his name in the first match against the Otago Volts. The Stags' batters are in good form, and when their team is under pressure to score, one or more of them rises to the occasion. Their bowling is also up to the mark, with Doug Bracewell and Seth Rance, an experienced duo, performing admirably. The Kings, on the other hand, are desperate to execute their plans this time around in order to make a strong comeback from their loss to the Volts. To make a match out of it, they must be alert and bring their "A" game.

Canterbury must find the right eleven and apply pressure to the Stags' weak spots. There are not many weak links in the Stags line up but as mentioned above that is the only concern for them.

Match Details

Canterbury Kings vs Central Stags - 5th Match

Date and Time: December 10, 2021, 11:10 AM IST

Venue: Hagley Oval, Christchurch

Broadcast: Fancode

Pitch Report

The Hagley Oval pitch generally assists the batters but with some nice covering of grass expected the new ball bowlers will have some help initially. The score batting first is expected to be around 165-180. As rain is expected to come, chasing could be easy.

Weather Conditions

According to forecasts there will be slight drizzle and will remain cloudy throughout the match.

Probable XI

Canterbury Kings

Chad Bowes, Ken McClure, Jack Boyle, Cole McConchie (c), Cam Fletcher (wk), Leo Carter, Matthew Hay, Matt Henry, Will Williams, William ORourke, Ed Nuttall

Central Stags

Greg Hay, Bayley Wiggins, Dane Cleaver (wk), Tom Bruce ©, Christian Leopard, Josh Clarkson, Doug Bracewell, Ben Wheeler, Jayden Lennox, Blair Tickner, Seth Rance

CE Fantasy XI

Dane Cleaver (wk), Leo Carter, Seth Rance, Ed Nuttall, Tom Bruce, Cole McConchie, Matt Henry, Jack Boyle, Ben Wheeler

Captain: Josh Clarkson

Vice-Captain: Doug Bracewell

Discover more
Top Stories
news

Rahul Dravid will make the players work really hard: Rohit Sharma

Former India captain Rahul Dravid was handed over the position of the team’s head coach after Ravi Shastri’s tenure was over. Dravid had a good start to his stint with the Indian team as they defeated New Zealand in both T20Is and Tests at home. Rohit Sharma who was earlier given the T20I captaincy has now been appointed as the ODI skipper of the side as well. The right-hander’s first assignment as the ODI captain would be against South Africa away from home. Talking about Dravid, Sharma lauded the head coach and revealed the plans that the former skipper has for the side. “Rahul bhai has been a brilliant cricketer without a doubt. He has said this a number of times earlier that he has to work really hard to achieve all that he has so that is going to reflect on this team. The side will have to work hard and there is nothing which is given on a platter to anyone. He will make you work hard. Obviously when you do that and enjoy it, you will feel good about it,” Sharma said on the show ‘Backstage with Boria. “Guys who are coming in or going out even, they will have clarity. That is something he will be able to create and ever since we had our first meeting, he mentioned that I’m here to help you all. I’m no longer a cricketer now and I know the difference between a cricketer and a coach. My job will be very easy to support the players and make sure whatever they need, they have it. He has gone personally to each one of us and spoken to them,” he added. The Men in Blue completed a 3-0 clean sweep win against the Blackcaps in the T20Is and then followed it with a 1-0 win in the two-match Test series against them.

news

The Ashes | Gabba Test, Day 2: Travis Head takes England bowlers head on to deflate Joe Root and co.

If a wicket on the very first ball was not a strong enough ominous sign for the Joe Root’s England on what may be heading their way in the first Test of the Ashes series at Gabba, getting hammered to all corners of the ground by the most vulnerable batsman in the Australian batting lineup on the second day provided enough glimpse of their prospective hardships on the Australian soil. Since the emergence of Marnus Labuschagne at the top of the order, it has been said that to get past Australia you must get past the trio of him, David Warner and Steve Smith. England could not go completely beyond all of them but the cheap wicket of Smith helped them overcome the century stand between the other two. However, their bowling attack was not fresh enough to keep a relentless line and length going in face of an onslaught by Travis Head, who had to bank on his past to get secure his present and possibly future on the basis of good performances. Robinson limps but carries England on his shoulders After Mark Wood and Jack Leach gave them the lease of life in the form of Labuschagne and Smith’s wickets, Ollie Robinson dragged England back almost from point of no return in the game and probably from the series as well. Warner was looking unfazed by the fall of wickets at the other end as he was nearing his century after riding on the wave of good luck early on in the innings. However, he did not expect the seam bowler that Robinson is to use a cutter and the Gabba surface to hold the ball for a longer period of time. Failure in judgment led to a leading edge and England sent all of Labuschagne, Smith and Warner in quick succession. They were right in the game as the only three remaining specialist batsmen were Travis Head, who was coming back after getting dropped midway through the series against India last summer, Cameron Green, who is yet to unlock his famous potential and Alex Carey, the debutant wicketkeeper-batsman. Robinson went one step further and eliminated one of them on the very next ball after dismissing Warner by flummoxing Green with a delivery that the batsman thought would bounce over the stumps. The length was too full and the line was too near to the off stump to miss the furniture and both Green’s innings and Australia’s efforts were derailed in a span of two deliveries. Pressure? What pressure, says Travis Head When Head walked out to bat, Wood was going full throttle with his pace and bounce and was running in on the back of the biggest wicket in the form of Steve Smith, who could have been unsettled by his pace to poke it to the keeper. Head was challenged by deliveries rising from short of good length areas and hitting him high on the bat. At the other end, Robinson was working a nice angle against him and Root backed his most accurate bowler on display with as many as five slips during that phase. Head was not nervous though to poke at delivery outside off stump and instead was on a mission to announce his return to international form and reclaim his lost belongings at the Test level. There were no half measures when England bowlers erred by bowling too full irrespective of a crowded slip cordon and he was up and running even before Root and his lieutenants could realise. Like Labuschagne and Warner, he too was extremely aggressive against Jack Leach and manufactured shots to convert good balls into boundary balls to motor the scoring rate along. He seemed too aggressive at one moment to Mark waugh who has immortalised aggressive stroke playing in the modern-day game and a bewildered Waugh wondered if he was looking to bing his ton before England could get their hands on the new ball. That probably was the only mission he failed to achieve today at Gabba but brought up his first Ashes ton in the 80th over by punching Chris Woakes past mid-on. The roar and animated celebration exemplified the context of that innings to his career and stature in the Australian Test team. England face up plenty of problems England rested James Anderson from the first Test citing inadequate preparation coming into the Gabba Test and to prepare for the Day-Night Test scheduled next week where his qualities would be more utilised. This space has already discussed the merits and demerits of that call but they also took another big call on Stuart Broad for this game. He was overlooked for the pace trio of Woakes, Robinson and Wood and spin of Jack Leach for some unknown reasons. England opted to play it safe with their experienced horses considering their ageing body and played the bait on young pacers. However, those extra meticulous proved to be futile for the visitors as Robinson looked out of gas towards the end and appeared to be holding his thigh while bowling towards the end of the day. Likewise, Ben Stokes also pulled his knee while going for a valiant save on the boundary line and bowled gingerly at pace and rhythm that could barely challenge the Australian batting lineup, except for one delivery that bounced extra and got big on Head. As discussed earlier also, England have done too much forward planning and maybe are paying price with every passing session and day of the Gabba Test. England could take heart from Robinson’s bowling and Woakes’s control but lack of sustained penetration from pacers was brutally exposed and once Australia took the attack to Jack Leach in successful manner, there was no place to hide for Joe Root, the skipper and his 10 teammates.