CD, who have made the cut to the lucrative Club World Championship once since the fledgling HRV Cup was launched, will host four T20 games there on the trot. On New Year's Day they will host the Wellington Firebirds and then the Otago Volts (January 5) and Canterbury Wizards (January 7) will follow.
It is fair to say the Stags will need divine intervention to make this summer's playoffs considering the inclement weather around the country is dictating terms. "You never know what happens," said Malan, who believes CD are in with a chance if they win their remaining six games although it's been raining in New Plymouth since yesterday and is forecast to ease this morning.
Effectively Noema-Barnett and his men will be playing Russian roulette because factors outside their control, such as rain, could stymie their best intentions in a format where it's imperative to win at least the first 3-4 matches as an insurance policy to cover a bad patch. The hosts will certainly have players who can step up with the return of unwanted Black Caps seamer Doug Bracewell, who has overcome his groin injury.
Bracewell could be the missing link in CD's 13-piece jigsaw as English import Peter Trego didn't fare too well as an opening partner of veteran Jacob Oram in their seven-wicket loss to the ND Knights on Boxing Day at Nelson.
Another who could have added to the equation is Adam Milne but it's highly unlikely Black Caps coach Mike Hesson will release him before the third ODI against the West Indies in Queenstown on Wednesday.
On the flip side, slow bowlers such as Marty Kain and Tarun Nethula came up trumps to take the pace off the deliveries.
A fortnight ago CD signed up another English county player, Joshua Cobb, who offers offspin but he wasn't asked to bowled.
"Cobby's done a bit of bowling for his county," Malan said, adding Noema-Barnett opted to go with his seamers but using Cobb in the next two games was definitely an option.
Bevan Small's return to the foray wasn't a memorable one against ND so he might be one of the two culled today.
While not keen to reveal his line-up, Malan said they wanted quality player Small to be 100 per cent fit following rib surgery, considering he could add 2-3 dimensions to their game plan. In the batting front, veteran Black Cap Jamie How has the experience to provide a platform in T20 and shield games and another senior player, Kruger van Wyk, perhaps needs to bat much higher than No6-7 to back him up to enable big hitters such as Noema-Barnett, Trego and Cobb to play stress-free shots.
It's also an opportune time for potential Black Caps such as Carl Cachopa and William Young to show domestic cricket is a given in their quest for international honours.
