The Central Districts Stags need no motivation to finish their season on a high in Napier from tomorrow, according to coach Heinrich Malan.
"Everyone's clued up and it's a good way for the players to see where we're at against the winners," Malan said of his Devon Hotel-sponsored troops who host the Mondiale Auckland Aces in the final round of the four-day Budget Rental Plunket Shield at McLean Park.
The visitors etched their name on the shield at the weekend when they drew with the Wellington Firebirds at the Basin Reserve in the penultimate round of the first-class cricket competition. It was the second title this summer for the Aces who also claimed the bragging rights to the lucrative Georgie Pie Super Smash Twenty20 title in the 2015-16 season.
The William Young-captained CD, who retained the limited-overs Ford Trophy, have won only one shield match this summer and are coming off a stalemate as well against the SBS Bank Otago Volts in Dunedin on Saturday.
Malan reiterated that for his young charges it was an opportunity to enter the CD record books with runs and wickets in the quest to step up to the next level of cricketdom.
