Guptill returns as final match of 2022/23 sees new look ACES ready to prevent Central Districts glory

The 2022/23 ACES season concludes, finally, with the rescheduled round five match against Central Districts, now played at Saxton Oval in Nelson.

While it hasn’t been the season the ACES have hoped for in any of the competitions, the Plunket Shield has seen arguably the best cricket the ACES have offered, especially since the resumption of the competition in February.

The nail-biting win against Northern Districts last week in Auckland featured some aggressive cricket from the batters and some spirited Wagner-style bowling from Danru Ferns, helping to get the ACES over the line in the last session of the match.

Central Districts are a different beast, however, and will be desperate for a strong win to get them to the top of the Plunket Shield ladder.

Both teams’ line-ups are affected by call-ups to the BlackCaps T20 series against Sri Lanka, the New Zealand A series against Australia A.

Mark Chapman (BlackCaps), Ben Lister (BlackCaps), Lockie Ferguson (IPL), Robbie O’Donnell (NZ A), Adi Ashok (NZ A), Sean Solia (NZ A), Simon Keene (concussion) will all be absent from this round.

The ACES will enjoy the return of Martin Guptill, who returns from the PSL and will play his only Plunket Shield match of the season.

Cole Briggs, Louis Delport, Ryan Harrison and Ross Ter Braak also return to the squad.

The toss is at 10am with play kicking off at 10:30am. The match is free entry and will also be live streamed on New Zealand Cricket’s YouTube channel while live scoring is available at scoring.nzc.nz.

Plunket Shield Round Five | Auckland ACES vs. Central Districts |

10:30am, 1-4 April 2023 | Saxton Oval, Nelson

Cole Briggs (East Coast Bays)

Louis Delport (East Coast Bays)

Danru Ferns (Takapuna)

Matt Gibson (Cornwall)

Martin Guptill (Suburbs New Lynn)

Ryan Harrison (East Coast Bays)

Ben Horne (Parnell) (wk) (c)

Will O’Donnell (Takapuna)

Will Somerville (Parnell)

Quinn Sunde (Takapuna)

Ross Ter Braak (Takapuna)

George Worker (Cornwall)

March 31, 2023