Northern Districts vs Otago Volts, PS, Today Match Prediction 20 October 2023

ND vs OV Match Prediction & Analysis

As one of New Zealand's oldest and most competitive sporting events, the Plunket Shield championship carries a rich legacy. This formidable tournament features four days of hard-fought cricket battles, all hosted at first-class venues spanning the length and breadth of the nation. The format of the Plunket Shield was revamped starting from the 2018/19 season, moving away from the prior 10-round double round-robin structure. This means that not all teams will face each other in both home and away matches.

The Auckland Aces, were reigning champions at the start of the 2022/23 season, squared off against the Central Stags in the final match of the 2022/23 Domestic season.

The Stags managed to dethrone the Aces, winning the match by an impressive 188-run margin and becoming the new champions. Both teams will kick off the new season of the Plunket Shield as well, starting on October 20. On the same day, Northern Knights will also take on Otago at Seddon Park.

RECENT PERFORMANCE

ND

OV

HEAD TO HEAD

TEAMS PREVIEW

Northern Districts Preview

The Northern Knights had a pretty good last season, where they ended up in third place with three wins and four losses. Like last season, they are a batting-heavy side and will depend on their batters to do most of the heavy lifting.

Bharat Popli was their standout performer last season, amassing 819 runs in 16 innings at an average of 63. He scored three hundreds and five fifties and was by far the most consistent batter for the team. A lot will be expected of Popli this year too.

Captain Jeet Raval will once again have a lot of responsibility on his shoulders. In the 2022-2023 season, he was the second-highest run-getter for the Knights with 643 runs in 16 innings at an average of 42.86.

Henry Cooper (547 runs in 16 innings last season at 34.18) is another batter we are looking forward to. He averages 47 in First Class cricket and is known to be a dependable opener who can provide solid starts. 

When it comes to the bowling department, the Knights will look at right-arm seamer Kristian Clarke. He was quite consistent last season, taking 19 wickets in 15 innings at 34.47. Tim Pringle, the Dutch all-rounder, is a pretty handy slow left-arm spinner. While he won’t get much help on this track, he can hold one end and keep putting pressure on the batters.

Northern Districts Predicted Playing XI:

Henry Cooper, Jeet Raval (c), Bharat Popli, Tim Seifert (wk), Katene Clarke, Brett Hampton, Brett Hampton, Scott Kuggeleijn, Kristian Clarke, Tim Pringle, Joe Walker

Northern Districts Actual Playing XI:

Henry Cooper, Jeet Raval, Joe Carter, Katene Clarke, Kristian Clarke, Brett Hampton, Scott Kuggeleijn, Joe Walker, Matthew Fisher, Sandeep Patel, Ben Pomare, Neil Wagner

Otago Volts Preview

Otago Volts had a miserable last season. They finished last and could manage just one victory from their eight games. Otago haven’t won the Plunket Shield since 1987–88, and the last time they were runners-up was in 2013-14. So, clearly, they have a lot of catching up to do.

Otago have a pretty decent squad this year as well. What remains to be seen is if they manage to get some winning momentum going.

Dean Foxcroft will again be their main player to watch out for. He was their leading run-getter last season, smashing 631 runs in 14 innings at an average of 45.07 with one hundred and five fifties. He also ended up taking 7 wickets with his off-spin.

Thorn Parkes (529 runs in 14 innings last season at 37.78) is another important player for Otago. He holds the middle order together and can forge valuable partnerships with the likes of Foxcroft and Dale Phillips.

Otago will again depend heavily on Jacob Duffy to get them early breakthroughs. The right-arm fast bowler topped the bowling charts last season, taking 32 scalps in 15 innings at 29.09. Travis Muller (21 wickets last season in 12 innings at 33.19) will share the new ball with him and look to get some early scalps.

Otago Volts Predicted Playing XI:

Hamish Rutherford (c), Jacob Cumming, Thorn Parkes, Dean Foxcroft, Dale Phillips, Jake Gibson, Andrew Hazeldine, Max Chu (wk), Travis Muller, Jacob Duffy, Ben Lockrose

Otago Volts Actual Playing XI:

Dale Phillips, Thorn Parkes, Dean Foxcroft, Jacob Cumming, Luke Georgeson, Max chu, Benjamin Lockrose, Jacob Duffy, Jake Gibson, Jarrod McKay, Matthew Bacon, Jamal Todd

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

Seddon Park in Hamilton offers plenty of bounce and movement for seam bowlers. Batting in the first innings here won’t be easy as the ball will move around quite a bit. Once a batter has settled down, he will have to take the onus of getting a healthy score because wickets might tumble from the other end. The pitch usually gets easier to bat on as the game progresses.

The weather in Hamilton will be cloudy for most of the first three days, with rain predicted on the fourth and final day.

ND vs OV Pitch Report

Last season, only two matches were played at Seddon Park in the Plunket Shield. The highest total posted was 405 by Northern Knights. Since this is the first match of the season here, the wicket might be true, but we don’t expect a high-scoring game. The team batting first should look to post a total of around 350-380 runs.

Toss: To Bowl

The team winning the toss is likely to field first here. The overhead conditions will allow the seam bowlers to trouble the batters and get some early wickets. Also, batting usually gets easier here from the second day onwards.