Bay coach Colin Schaw had expected Malan to rule no Stags for any side if the Bay couldn't have their players.
Mason intended to employ under-19 player Whetu na Nagara behind the stumps so as not to over-exert Cleaver, who is likely to be playing his sixth day of red-ball cricket by Sunday, although rain may dictate terms.
Manawatu will have Black Caps greater squad batsman George Worker returning from injury after playing alongside rising batting talent Mitchell Renwick and seamer Navin Patel at the Provincial A T20 tourney in Taupo on Tuesday and Wednesday.
"It must have been a very tough decision even for Heinrich," says Mason, aware the challenge would have been to try to slot in ex-Black Caps batsman Jesse Ryder somewhere in the Stags line up with a mindset of experience eclipsing youth.
"As soon as someone is not performing Mitch is going to jump in and he'll definitely do the job."
He bemoaned the lack of time his men have had to prepare on grass wickets due to persistent rain that robbed them of an outright victory against Wairarapa in the opening round.
Both sides claimed three points from that match.
"If we have one more rain-out it'll be the end of the competition for us but we can't worry too much about that because the guys simply want to play some cricket," he says.
Left-arm seamer Caleb Gaylard injured himself at training on Tuesday while captain Dave Meiring is bracketed with Arana Noema-Barnett.
"I guess I'll just have to jump in if anyone else breaks down by then," Mason says with a laugh.
