Cricket: Win toss, bat first - it's a Schaw thing

Whanganui coach Warren Marr has brought a hard-nosed approach to the senior men's team this summer. PHOTO/NZME.

Despite some rain overnight, Hawke's Bay senior men's representative cricket coach Colin Schaw isn't going to do anything differently in Napier.

That is - win toss, will bat.

"Nelson Park, to me, for the first half hour it can do a little bit but, generally, it's a pretty good deck," says Schaw before the Pay Excellence-sponsored side host Active Physio Whanganui in their two-day, zone 2 Furlong Cup match to see who will eventually earn the right from the Central Districts region to challenge for the Hawke Cup, the symbol of minor association supremacy.

"I'm a great fan of having runs on the board to take the pressure off."

While there will be some moisture around when the covers are taken off, Schaw says his men will have to toil a little to get their first-innings points.

That comes from the confidence gleaned from the previous rain-affected matches but the significance of an outright victory to give the Bay some breathing space isn't lost on the side with two cloudy but balmy days forecast.

Opening batsman Jacob Smith is out with a niggly hamstring injury and has handed the captain's armband to Angus Schaw.

"We've decided to leave him out to try to get him right for the game after Christmas," he says, as unwanted CD spinner Ajaz Patel comes in and is no mug with the bat.

"Ajaz is certainly knocking on the door of the Twenty20 team so he's obviously a huge gain for us with the experience and the nature of him bowling at this stage," says Schaw who has three tweakers in Patel, South African GC Pretorius and Angus Schaw.

"I think Ajaz is pushing for higher honours from CD, too. He must be knocking on that door to play at a higher level," he says, adding Patel's leadership role will be an asset as well.

Top-order batsman Indika Senarathne is on standby for Central Districts Stags batsman Tom Bruce, who injured his wrist at training in Napier on Thursday so James Field is bracketed with the Sri Lankan.

It's not in Schaw's nature to ever underestimate opposition, let alone Whanganui under coach Warren Marr.

"He's obviously really lifted that side and I know they'll be pretty dogmatic about it all ... and they'll be prepared to stick it out so they won't be easy," he says.

The prospect of two full days of play here for the first time in he campaign will reveal whether the visitors have been on the improve with bat in hand or have disguised their abilities among the cloud bursts, according to a Wanganui Chronicle report.

Having only managed one full-day's play in both their previous rain-effected matches with Taranaki and Wairarapa, Marr is banking on his returning captain Simon Badger being uncommonly good at games of chance by winning the toss this morning.

It is the best hope of a "positive outcome" where Whanganui may, through a long innings and then pressure in the field, give themselves an outside shot at first-innings points against the favourites.

"I'm picking it's still going to be a two-innings style fixture if we play well," says Marr.

"Over there, normally you'd look to bat first and bat 90 overs. We'd have to bowl well to even defend 320."

HAWKE'S BAY: Matt Edmondson, Liam Dudding, GC Pretorius, Liam Rukuwai, Angus Schaw (c), Indika Senarathne/James Field, Bradley Schmulian, Scott Schaw (wk), Ben Stoyanoff, Rupert Young, Ajaz Patel, Christian Leopard.

WHANGANUI: Matt Boswell, Calum Coker, Dominic Lock, Greg Smith, Mark Fraser, Dominic Rayner, Simon Badger (c), Nick Harding, Akash Gill, Chris Sharrock, Ross Kinnerley, Todd Inness.