Todd takes the helm

Central Stag Greg Todd will skipper a youthful-looking Wairarapa XI in a "friendly" limited-overs fixture against Wellington under-18s on the grass wicket at Rathkeale Oval on Sunday.

Todd, who is contracted to Central Districts for the 2011-12 season after previous first-class stints with Otago and Auckland, looked in good batting touch when he got into the 20s for Red Star before rain caused the abandonment of the Umpires Cup fixture with Greytown last weekend.

Captaincy is, of course, nothing new for Todd as he led both the Rathkeale College first XI and Wairarapa some years back when he consistently made an impact as a top order batsman and medium pace bowler.

Since then, however, his bowling has pretty much taken a backseat - as much due to a horrific leg injury as anything else - but the prospects are that he will again play as an all-rounder whenever he is available for Wairarapa this season.

Selectors Mark Brown and Brian James have named several young faces in Sunday's line-up as a means of trialling them for the Chapple Cup limited-overs match with Hawke's Bay at Onga Onga on October 22.

Among those getting the opportunity to push their case are Daniel Haxton, Jamie Holmes, Matthew Stringfellow, Stefan Hook and Matt McKenzie and they will be joined by a handful of more experienced campaigners such as Tim Lucas and Paul Lyttle.

Notable absentees from the match, which will start at 10.30am, will be Seth Rance and Sam Curtis, who are both recovering from injury hassles.

Rathkeale College is clearly the home of Wairarapa cricket at the present time. Both senior interclub matches programmed for last weekend were held there and it will be the same again tomorrow when Umpire's Cup matches continue, Flight Centre Lansdowne taking on Red Star and Turkey Red Greytown confronting Wairarapa College.

This will be Lansdowne's first appearance for 2011-12 and they will field their usual solid combination, spearheaded by the likes of Holmes, Stringfellow, Choi Jackson, Leighton Calkin and Alex Treseder.

Todd is sure to be one of the mainstays of a Red Star side also expected to include Joe Hull, Jared Watt, Troy Burling, Peter Sigvertsen, Nik Karaitiana and Daniel Stonely.

Greytown will again be led by Lyttle with Lucas, Haxton, Dave Mills, Brian James, Gordon Reisima, Blake Lyford, Nash Patel, Jake Smith and Ben Hodder likely starters as well. Facing them will be a Wairarapa College side anticipating big things from Hook, Andrew Williams, Caleb Hickland, Kim and Nick Griffiths and Sergy Montgomery.