Bayley Wiggins will make his one-day debut for the Central Stags at Saxton Oval tomorrow, called into The Ford Trophy squad for regular wicketkeeper Dane Cleaver.

Cleaver and Will Young have both been named this morning alongside Ajaz Patel in New Zealand A’s first-class squad to play India A — opening the door for talented 21-year-old Wiggins to make his first List A appearance behind the stumps.

Opening batsman George Worker meanwhile returns from New Zealand A’s victorious one-day squad after a 2-1 series win over India A, the punishing left-hander supplying a pivotal century — 131 off 144 balls and chalking up his 5000th List A run in the same innings.

GEORGE WORKER | CDCA

Worker had scored a 99 against the same shadow India side last season and, averaging almost 50 in Ford Trophy cricket, his seasoned reliability offsets the swift loss of NZC-contracted Young.

Along with Kieran Noema-Barnett’s career-best 76, Young provided a bright spot for the Stags in Sunday’s stinging loss to the Otago Volts with a breezy half century — 62 off 54 balls — in his first game back this season.

From the Cornwall club in Hastings, Wiggins’s sole previous appearance for the Stags was his Super Smash debut at the Basin Reserve last February. The promising keeper-batsman will step in behind the stumps for his maiden Ford Trophy game in this Wednesday’s free-admission seventh round at home at Saxton Oval, a big rematch against the visiting Volts.

BAYLEY WIGGINS ALSO STOOD IN FOR DANE CLEAVER LAST SEASON | PHOTOSPORT

Said CDCA Manager, High Performance Lance Hamilton, “Bayley comes into the Ford Trophy side as Dane Cleaver’s replacement after some strong performances for both Hawke’s Bay and Central Districts A this season.

“At just 20 he performed really well in his previous opportunity with the Stags in last season’s Super Smash campaign, both with the gloves and playing a nice little cameo innings at the death with the bat.

“Bayley’s versatility means he could play a role for us either at the top of the innings or in the finishing role, and we see him very much as a like-for-like swap in Dane’s absence.”

Fresh off his 50th List A match for the Stags, Cleaver has been a solid top order performer for the Stags in all formats this season as he continues to push for national recognition.

DANE CLEAVER | PHOTOSPORT

Gates will be open to the public from 10am at Saxton Oval tomorrow, the toss at 10.30am and first ball at 11am as the Stags look to fight their way back from unfamiliar territory at the bottom of the competition ladder with just four games left in the regular season.

The match will be captain Ben Smith’s 50th List A cap as he looks to lead the side back from a tough captaincy debut in Dunedin on Sunday. A classy career-best performance by Volts captain Hamish Rutherford led to a 400-plus total for the hosts — the most runs ever conceded by the Stags in their one-day history.

Chasing 407/4, a series of top-order contributions, followed by Kieran Noema-Barnett’s fighting career best, wasn’t enough to prevent the Volts pocketing a bonus-point victory, and the Stags are fired up to reverse those fortunes tomorrow on what’s likely to be another hot, flat batting arena in Stoke.

CENTRAL STAGS squad

The Ford Trophy — Round 7

Central Stags v Otago Volts

Saxton Oval, Nelson

11AM, Wednesday 29 January 2020

Ben Smith – captain — Whanganui

Josh Clarkson — Nelson

Greg Hay — Nelson

Jayden Lennox — Hawke’s Bay

Willem Ludick — Nelson

Kieran Noema-Barnett — Hawke’s Bay

Seth Rance — Wairarapa

Brad Schmulian — Hawke’s Bay

Ryan Watson — Taranaki

Bayley Wiggins — wicketkeeper — Hawke’s Bay

Ben Wheeler — Marlborough

George Worker — Manawatu

Coach — Aldin Smith

Unavailable for selection

Ross Taylor, Blair Tickner, Tom Bruce — BLACKCAPS

Ajaz Patel, Dane Cleaver, Will Young — NZ A

Doug Bracewell, Adam Milne, Bevan Small, Ben Stoyanoff — injury/rehabilitation

WILL YOUNG | CDCA

NZ A first-class squad v India A

DANE CLEAVER — Central Stags, wicketkeeper

AJAZ PATEL — Central Stags

WILL YOUNG — Central Stags

Hamish Rutherford — Otago Volts, captain

Mark Chapman — Auckland Aces

Jacob Duffy — Otago Volts

Cole McConchie — Canterbury

Edward Nuttall — Canterbury

Glenn Phillips — Auckland Aces

Michael Rae — Otago Volts

Rachin Ravindra — Wellington Firebirds

Sean Solia — Auckland Aces

NZ A Game 2 additions

Daryl Mitchell (Northern Knights), Tim Seifert (Northern Knights), Ish Sodhi (Northern Knights) and one more bowler to be added post the BLACKCAPS T20 series 

NZ A Game 2 departures

Mark Chapman, AJAZ PATEL, Edward Nuttall and Sean Solia 

Game 1: January 30-2 February | Hagley Oval, Christchurch

Game 2: February 7-10 | Bert Sutcliffe Oval, Lincoln

Article added: Tuesday 28 January 2020