"It was a placid wicket so it was tough to get people out," says Malan before facing ND who will be without captain Daniel Flyn (personal reasons) as BJ Watling leads them.
Kieran Noema-Barnett has gone to pursue a career in county cricket in England which means Bracewell assumes the mantle of CD's No.1 allrounder as well as the leading first-class wicket taker with 24 scalps, one more than fellow Black Caps seamer Neil Wagner.
Taranaki batsman Dean Robinson is the new casualty for CD, breaking his leg while fielding in the last round so enter David Meiring.
"Not too many things went our way," Malan says, although he argues playing ND again a week later is the nature of the beast. "To win trophies you have to play everyone and at anytime."
With the Queenstown game rained out, it's imperative fifth-placed CD claim maximum points to stay in the hunt.
Two wins from five remaining matches are on the agenda. Anything else, he says, will be a bonus.
Both teams
*CD Stags: Doug Bracewell, Tom Bruce, Greg Hay, Andrew Mathieson, David Meiring, Ajaz Patel, Seth Rance, Bevan Small, Kruger van Wyk (c, wkt), Ben Wheeler, George Worker, William Young.
*ND Knights: BJ Watling (c, wkt), Graeme Aldridge, James Baker, Jono Boult, Dean Brownlie, Joe Carter, Anton Devcich, Scott Kuggeleijn, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner, Anurag Verma, Brad Wilson.
