Cricket: Win or two can catapult CD to top

CD coach Heinrich Malan says it's about the controllables and the Stags trained well yesterday in Palmerston North before today's game against Otago Volts. PHOTO/Paul Taylor

It's a match between the two bottom teams but all it takes is a couple of wins and that could catapult either into playoff contention in the men's one-day domestic cricket competition.

"We're half way through the competition and we have everything to play for," says Central Districts coach Heinrich Malan before they host the Otago Volts in round five of the Ford Trophy campaign in Palmerston North today.

Malan says it's about what the Stags can control and yesterday they were coming off a good training session.

The Fitzherbert Park ground was closer to a normal ground than Eden Park outer oval where the William Young-captained CD suffered a gut-wrenching four-run loss when the Duckworth-Lewis Method kicked in due to rain in pursuit of a mammoth total of 392 runs from the Auckland Aces on Wednesday.

The winless Volts are coming off a 125-run loss to ND Knights in Whangarei compared with CD's one as the latter seek a treble of consecutive crowns.

"It's only one or two conditioning factors you have to take into account when you're playing over here but the wicket looks to be a good one and it has got a history of a ground where there's been some hard score so if, you know, if the weather plays along and the wicket stays the way it is it'll be a good game of cricket [today]," says Malan.

The South African says the previous encounter shows that if the Stags step up to the crease it doesn't matter whether they will post a target or try to eclipse a total the batsmen are in the best position to dictate what the outcome will be.

"We've obviously got a young seam attack so it's just a case of making sure that they are comfortable.

"You know, it's always tough when you get on the big stage and have to bowl to Martin Guptill the other day because he's obviously a world-class player but those boys will learn as we go on as long as they adapt and learn quickly."

Malan juxtaposes some experienced Aces bowlers with his young guns to find the latter have done better so they should take some heart from that.

■ CD Stags: George Worker, Ben Smith, Jesse Ryder, William Young (c), Tom Bruce, Dane Cleaver (wk), Josh Clarkson, Kieran Noema-Barnett, Ajaz Patel, Blair Tickner, Navin Patel, Liam Dudding.

■ Otago Volts: Anaru Kitchen, Ryan Duffy, Neil Broom, Jimmy Neesham (c), Michael Bracewell, Brad Wilson, Derek de Boorder (wk), Christi Viljoen, Michael Rippon, Nathan Smith, Jack Hunter, Gregor Croudis.