Central Stags captain GREG HAY is poised to become just the second player to play 100 first-class matches for his side.

Tomorrow at McLean Park, Hay is set to follow in the footsteps of the only other Central Stags representative to have achieved the milestone: his record-holding predecessor, MATHEW SINCLAIR.

The stats are stacking up for Hay, the unflappable rock of the first-class side, who played his overall career 100th first-class match in round two (having also twice represented New Zealand A) at his home ground in Nelson.

In the opening round this season, he also broke JAMIE HOW's record for the most first-class wins as Stags captain.

After another exciting outright victory last week in Dunedin, Hay now has 15 Plunket Shield wins - and has twice lifted the revered Plunket Shield as the team's skipper.

The Stags are no doubt fired up to make it another four days to remember for their captain, and it's against the team they edged last season for the silverware: Canterbury, with the toss set for 10am tomorrow at Napier's McLean Park.

It's the Stags' first match in Napier this summer, free admission all four days. Tempering the mood a tad is the absence of Hay's fellow senior batsman, TOM BRUCE whose torn adductor in Dunedin forces the first change to the squad this season.

Bruce scored a century in the latest win: a 50-run away thriller against the Otago Volts that propelled the defending champion Stags to within a sniff of the lead on the points table after three of the eight rounds.

It was the second Stags ton of a campaign which has so far seen the bowling pack produce consistently outstanding performances while the batting has been patchy, with reverse swing always a danger this early in the summer.

The only other centurion was Hay who opened the season in brilliant form, carrying his bat through the first day of the season for a century that set up his team's innings victory in Auckland. The gritty opener played another significant hand with the bat in the latest match.

How it started | PHOTOSPORT

Hay played his very first game in November 2006, against the Wellington Firebirds at the Cello Basin Reserve. That was almost another century as he was left stranded on 98 not out on debut by his number 11 batting partner, LANCE HAMILTON.

Since then, Hay has accrued 6,723 runs for the Stags at an average of 42.01, including 17 centuries and 32 half centuries, with some memorable double centuries among them - including his all-time high of 226 in an emphatic victory in his only appearance at Molyneux Park, and his unbeaten 202* against Canterbury at Rangiora.

In a career of two halves, the now 39-year-old debuted for the team as a flame-haired young gun 22-year-old from Nelson who was a Young Player to Lord's (representing the MCC Young Cricketers side, which shoulder-tapped rising talents from around the world) in 2003.

How it's going | PHOTOSPORT

Initially he struggled to find a consistent place in the Stags team, and drifted away entirely between 2009 and 2013 when you might have spotted him playing club cricket in Auckland.

His return to the Stags first-class squad in December 2013 has led to the most emphatic period of his career. That comeback match saw him produce an unbeaten 83* first up, and he hasn't looked back. Moving up from the middle order to open the batting in latter seasons, and taking over the first-class captaincy from WILL YOUNG after the team's 2019 championship win, he has found the niche from which he can be most influential.

In 2020, he lifted the trophy himself, in his first summer as captain, and repeated the scenes earlier this year when the Stags clinched the trophy again with a thrilling result in Nelson.

 

Lifting the 2019 Plunket Shield | PHOTOSPORT

Hay heads into the big game tomorrow as the Stags' second overall all-time run scorer, with his 6.723 shaded only by Sinclair's phenomenal 9,148.

Hay is also second-equal on the most centuries list (17, shared with Peter Ingram). Who's ahead of him? Yep. Just Skippy Sinclair, with 27. And while Hay is the second highest capped Stag and just the second to join the 100 club, Sinclair is the goat there too, with 119 caps.

Hay will be conscious of not distracting himself from the primary mission at hand over the coming four days: to seize the opportunity to beat Canterbury and move, hopefully, into the Plunket Shield championship lead, in the last red-ball match of the year before the mid-summer switch to white-ball cricket.

Admission is free all four days to see an icon and his team in action in the toughest format of all to win. Scroll down for the squads, and follow the match with livescores and our free livestream here at cdcricket.co.nz

NEXT WEEK, the Stags and Central Hinds are hosting a

FREE Super Smash Open Day

at Mitre 10 Park, in Frimley, Hastings!

SUPER SMASH OPEN DAY 2023

WHERE : Athletic Stadium Track at Mitre 10 Park

42 Percival Road, Hastings

WHEN : 10am-2pm, Monday 20 November

Come along between 10am and 2pm on the day and you could score free Junior tickets to our Dream11 Super Smash T20s in January, meet the players and our crazy mascot The Stag, play some fun games, and enjoy a free sausage-sizzle lunch!

Remember it's always cheaper to buy tickets online than at the gate on game day, so if you're looking forward to attending any of our Dream11 Super Smash doubleheaders - in Palmerston North (27 December), New Plymouth (29 and 30 December) or Napier (8 and 10 January), get tickets at the best prices by booking ahead

 

 

 

 

2023/24 PLUNKET SHIELD

Round Four

 

CENTRAL STAGS v Canterbury

McLean Park, Napier

10.30am • Wednesday 15 to Saturday 18 November, 2023

Free admission

 

CENTRAL STAGS SQUAD

 

GREG Hay (captain) — Nelson — 100 caps for Central Stags

DOUG Bracewell — Hawke’s Bay

JACK Boyle — Hawke’s Bay

WILL Clark — Hawke’s Bay

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 Semi-FInal - go the BCs

TOM Bruce — Injury (adductor)

JOEY Field — return to play process following shoulder rehabilitation

 

CANTERBURY

Cole McConchie (c) • Chad Bowes • Matt Boyle • Sean Davey • Zak Foulkes

Mitch Hay (w) • Dylan Hunter • Angus McKenzie • Henry Nicholls

Will O'Rourke • Michael Rippon • Fraser Sheat

 

 

FULL SCHEDULE

Follow the campaign with hashtags:

#plunketshield #lovethestags

 

Get your Nelson and Napier BLACKCAPS tickets here!

Article added: Suesday 14 November 2023