CENTRAL STAGS captain GREG HAY will lead an unchanged squad onto his home ground in Nelson this Saturday morning when he plays his 100th first-class match.

Hay's poised to become one of the few Stags representatives to have played a hundred first-class matches in their overall career, which includes two New Zealand A matches as well as 97 Plunket Shield appearances heading into tomorrow.

The skipper is coming off a century on the opening day of the season in Auckland, a knock that set up an innings victory, with a day to spare.

The defending champions are at the right end of the table with the big match coming up over the next four days against another first-round winner, the Wellington Firebirds.

A century on the first day of the season | MBUTCHER

Entry at Saxton Oval is free every day to see the Nelson legend in his milestone match, with sunny weather forecast even as other parts of the country are in for some stormy situations.

It's as if all the stars have aligned for the batsman who made his first-class debut against the same team, at the Basin on 21 November 2006.

Hay on debut, in 2006 | PHOTOSPORT

By then, Hay had already been a Nelson representative for several years (the Waimea College boy having debuted in his teens).

Top-scoring at number six in the first innings, he promptly scored 98 not out on his Stags debut to help the side along to an eventual victory.

Fast forward to the present and he's the senior opening batsman, the rock of the side, a team man to the core, highly respected captain - and the owner of 6,712 first-class runs, 17 Plunket Shield centuries, a 41.95 batting average, and two Plunket Shield titles as captain, in addition to those as a player.

Hay now sits high on the lists of most of the Central Stags first-class batting records, but unquestionably it's winning hard-fought games of red-ball cricket — and upholding the traditions and spirit of the game — that means the most to the 39-year-old.

Tomorrow's match will also see Test spinner AJAZ PATEL poised to take his 250th first-class wicket for the Stags in the Plunket Shield, among his 327 first-class wickets overall, while fellow Test representative BLAIR TICKNER needs six more wickets for 200 first-class career wickets.

The toss is at 10am.

Follow the match with livescores and our free livestream here at cdcricket.co.nz or head to the park at your leisure, beginning on Saturday, 28 October.

The Stags and Central Hinds will also be hosting a free Super Smash Open Day at Mitre 10 Park, Hastings on 20 November 2023.

2023/24 PLUNKET SHIELD

Round Two

CENTRAL STAGS v WELLINGTON FIREBIRDS

Saxton Oval, Stoke, Nelson

10.30am • Saturday 28 to Tuesday 31 October 2023

Free admission

CENTRAL STAGS SQUAD

GREG Hay (captain) — Nelson — 100th first-class match

DOUG Bracewell — Hawke’s Bay

JACK Boyle — Hawke’s Bay

TOM Bruce — Taranaki

JOSH Clarkson — Nelson

DANE Cleaver (wicketkeeper) — Manawatū

CURTIS Heaphy — Manawatū

AJAZ Patel — Hawke’s Bay

BRETT Randell

BRAD Schmulian — Hawke’s Bay

BLAIR Tickner — Hawke’s Bay

RAY Toole — Manawatū

Head Coach: GLENN Pocknall

Contracted players unavailable for selection:

WILL Young — 2023 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup

JOEY Field - return to play process following shoulder rehabilitation

FULL SCHEDULE

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#plunketshield #lovethestags

Article added: Friday 27 October 2023