New Zealand domestic cricket moves to the white-ball format after the completion of the first half of the Plunket Shield. The 2020-21 edition of the Ford Trophy is all set to kick off. Northern Knights (or rather Northern Districts) will take on Auckland in one of the three games on the opening day of the tournament.
Northern Knights finished fourth on the points table last season and narrowly missed out on a place in the knockouts only due to net run rate. They were slightly inconsistent and couldn’t gain any sort of momentum. The Anton Devcich-led side would want to change that this time around. They have named a strong 12-man squad for this game and it comprises of a few New Zealand international cricketers as well.
On the other hand, Auckland are the defending champions. They won last year’s Ford Trophy as they beat Otago in the final by two runs. To start this tournament, their squad has taken a hit as a lot of first-choice players are on international duty. As a result, the 12-member squad wears a new look. There could be as many as four debutants for Auckland in this game.
Squads to choose from
Northern Knights: Jeet Raval, Katene Clarke, Bharat Popli, BJ Watling, Dean Brownlie, Anton Devcich, Brett Hamptom, Jake Gibson, Josef Walker, Brett Randell, Anurag Verma, Neil Wagner
Auckland: Robert O’Donnell, Graeme Beghin, Danru Ferns, Ryan Harrison, Ben Horne, Ben Lister, Colin Munro, Will O’Donnell, Ollie Pringle, Brad Rodden, Will Somerville, Ross ter Braak.
Predicted Playing XIs
Northern Knights: Jeet Raval, Katene Clarke, Anton Devcich (c), Dean Brownlie, BJ Watling (wk), Bharat Popli, Brett Hampton, Josef Walker, Anurag Verma, Josef Walker, Brett Randell
Auckland: Will O’Donnell, Colin Munro, Robert O’Donnell (c), Ben Horne, Graeme Beghin, Danru Ferns, Ryan Harrison, Ben Lister, Ollie Pringle, Will Somerville, Ross ter Braak
Match Details
Match: Northern Knights vs Auckland
Date: November 29th, 2020, 3:30 AM IST
Venue: Cobham Oval (New), Whangarei
Pitch Report
Last season, there were two Ford Trophy games played at the Cobham Oval ground in Whangarei, and the average first innings score was 243. Thus, more of the same can be expected and it should be a decent track to bat on. The fast bowlers may get some assistance early on and the bounce is expected to be true.
New Zealand ODD 2020-21 Dream 11 Fantasy Suggestions (NK vs AUK)
Fantasy Suggestion #1: BJ Watling, Colin Munro, Robert O’Donnell, Dean Brownlie, Anton Devcich, Danru Ferns, Brett Hampton, Ben Lister, Will Somerville, Anurag Verma, Neil Wagner
Captain: Colin Munro Vice-captain: Anton Devcich
Fantasy Suggestion #2: Ben Horne, BJ Watling, Colin Munro, Robert O’Donnell, Katene Clarke, Anton Devcich, Danru Ferns, Brett Hampton, Ben Lister, Brett Randell, Neil Wagner
Captain: Ben Lister Vice-captain: BJ Watling
Looking to improve your fantasy team? Download CricRocket and get expert teams, venue details, pitch report and in-depth player stats! 🚀☄️