Victoria look to rebound against Central Districts

Match facts

Wednesday, September 15
Start time 1330 (1130 GMT)

Big Picture

If Central Districts Stags are not up for this match, they will never be up for a match. It might be just a club game, but New Zealanders love nothing better than a sporting contest, any sporting contest, against the Aussies. And the feeling most of the time is mutual.

Last Saturday 70,288 were at the ANZ Stadium in Sydney to watch the All Blacks beat the Wallabies 23-22 in an epic rugby Test. Earlier that week, their women's netball teams played out nearly a dream series-decider in Auckland: 22-22 at halftime, 31-31 at the end of the third quarter, with Australia winning 46-40 in the end.

Central Districts might be unfancied, they might have been blown away by Chennai Super Kings, they might be missing Ross Taylor and Jacob Oram, but expect a feisty effort against the Australian champions, Victoria Bushrangers.

And if Victoria are not up for this one, they won't be up for many others. Not only will they be playing a New Zealand side, they will be smarting from the hiding dished out to them in their first game by the Warriors. Very rarely are Australian cricket sides so outplayed. There is enough quality in their side to bounce back emphatically, and Central Districts will need a smashing start to the game if these two are to live up to the tightness of the recent matches between teams from the two countries.

Team news

Victoria were pretty one-dimensional in their first game, and might look to employ Bryce McGain's spin to give their attack some variety. Shane Harwood is out with a calf injury, which means Peter Siddle is in line for a spot. And they will have a hard look at Glenn Maxwell's role in the side: he didn't bowl in their first game, and batted at No. 7.

Victoria Bushrangers (likely) 1 Rob Quiney, 2 Brad Hodge, 3 Aaron Finch, 4 David Hussey (capt.), 5 Andrew McDonald, 6 Matthew Wade (wk), 7 John Hastings, 8 Clint McKay, 9 Peter Siddle/James Pattinson, 10 Bryce McGain, 11 Dirk Nannes

Central Districts Stags (likely) 1 Peter Ingram, 2 Jamie How, 3 George Worker, 4 Mathew Sinclair, 5 Kieran Noema-Barnett, 6 Bevan Griggs (wk), 7 Brendon Diamanti, 8 Doug Bracewell, 9 Adam Milne, 10 Michael Mason, 11 Mitchell McClenaghan

Watch out for ...

Mathew Sinclair has been a frustrating figure in New Zealand cricket by being inconsistent at the international level but remarkably consistent in first-class cricket. He was declared the MVP in domestic cricket as recently as last year. He is also the most experienced batsman in the line-up, and needs to carry it.

Brad Hodge, unlike Sinclair, has experienced more frustration than he has dished out. Not only has he excelled in domestic cricket, he is also the second-highest run-getter in this format of the game, behind his captain, David Hussey. He will know more is expected of him than he delivered in their first game.

Key contest

Central Districts medium-pace v Victoria batsmen: Michael Mason, Adam Milne and Mitchell McClenaghan, who started off well against Chennai Super Kings, will have to drag down the Victoria top order to prevent this from becoming a one-sided contest.

Stats and trivia

• David Hussey and Albie Morkel (128 matches each) are jointly the most capped players in the T20 format. The race is on, and who comes out leading will depend on which team goes farther in the Champions League.

Quotes

"We've got to regroup pretty quickly and play some A grade cricket."
David Hussey knows Victoria can't afford another poor game