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CLAIM NOWNorthern Districts vs Wellington Firebirds, PS, Today Match Prediction 24 March 2024
ND vs WELL Win Probability
Toss Winner - Wellington Firebirds won the toss and choose to bat first
Will Northern Districts dictate and pick up their third straight win at home this season? Will Wellington put on a dominating display to hold on to their slender lead and go on to win the Plunket Shield?
- One-drop batsman Gareth Severin continued his brilliant run with the bat, scoring a crucial 105 in the match against Otago.
- Michael Bracewell’s star return to action after a hiatus saw him deliver a match-winning 8/41 to knock out Otago.
- The four-pronged pace attack of Northern Districts have 99 wickets between them in this Plunket Shield season.
We are backing Wellington Firebirds as winners of this contest.
| Tournament: | Plunket Shield, 2023-24 |
| Format: | test |
| Venue: | Seddon Park, Hamilton, New Zealand |
| Toss Prediction: | To Bowl |
| Weather: | 17.6°C|Cloudy |
ND vs WELL Match Prediction & Analysis
Northern Districts' comfortable 13-point lead over at the top of the table evaporated after a nightmarish performance in Round 7.
Sitting atop the standings and boasting an undefeated record alongside Wellington, Northern Districts faced Canterbury in the penultimate round.
But a shocking 5-wicket defeat threw a wrench in ND’s plans to keep their pole position. They could add only 3 points to their total, while Wellington hammered out a crushing win against Otago and collected 20 points to move to the top ahead of the final round.
With just 4 points separating the two best teams, the final is going to be gripping. Going by their recent encounters, the final promises to be equally exciting as both Northern Districts and Wellington seem evenly matched.
Their most recent meeting in November ended in a tame draw with ND well placed in pursuit of 304 for a win. In the other four matches, both Wellington and Northern Districts won two each- one convincingly and the other by a narrow margin.
RECENT PERFORMANCE
ND
L W L L L
ND
398/10 in 124.3 3.2
PS
Canterbury Kings beat Northern Districts by 5 wickets
136/5 in 32.1 4.23
160/10 in 44.5 3.57
164/2 in 36.0 4.56
330/8 in 50.0 6.6
285/10 in 49.0 5.82
WELL
W W L L L
WELL
526/10 in 127.3 4.13
328/5 in 91.2 3.59
285/8 in 50.0 5.7
289/6 in 50.0 5.78
HEAD TO HEAD
Last 5 Matches
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TEAMS PREVIEW
Northern Districts Preview
Northern Districts squandered their lead with a dismal performance in Round 7, slumping to a 5-wicket defeat against Canterbury and dropping to second place.
This untimely stumble marks their only blemish of the season, and now they’re forced to quickly regroup and get back to winning ways. A ionate display in the final, bolstered by their home crowd's , can keep their title aspirations well and truly alive.
Despite failing in the first innings, Joe Carter looked determined in the second. After bringing up his sixth half century of the season, he set his sights on a big hundred but was dismissed for 54. Reliable with the bat, Tim Seifert narrowly missed a fifty in the first innings but made sure he crossed the mark in the second.
Unfortunately, both batsmen fell short of converting their fifties into centuries, a factor that likely hurt Northern Districts' ability to post a truly substantial total against Canterbury.
Scott Kuggeleijn was the standout performer with both bat and ball for ND in the first innings, scoring a crucial 65 to help the total up to 235 and picking up six crucial wickets to keep the opposition below 400. His fellow pacers Kristan Clarke , Brett Hampton and Matthew Fisher didn’t quite dominate Canterbury batsmen as well as they’d have liked to, but they’d be aiming to make amends in the final.
Northern Districts Predicted Playing XI:
Henry Cooper, Jeet Raval (c), Bharat Popli, Joe Carter, Sandeep Patel, Tim Seifert (wk), Scott Kuggeleijn, Brett Hampton, Kristian Clarke, Joe Walker, Matthew Fisher
Northern Districts Key Players From Previous Game Of Plunket Shield, 2023-24
Northern Districts Actual Playing XI:
Bharat Popli, Henry Cooper, Jeet Raval, Joe Carter, Brett Hampton, Scott Kuggeleijn, Tim Seifert, Frederick Walker, Joe Walker, Matthew Fisher, Tim Southee
Wellington Firebirds Preview
A tight draw against Central Districts kept Wellington Firebirds in the title hunt with just two rounds remaining in the competition. They went from strength to strength and brought up a crushing win against Otago by an innings and 42 runs in Round 6.
This dominant performance not only earned them the most points that round (20) but also pushed them past table-toppers Northern Districts to the top spot. Now, Wellington Firebirds head into the final round as the only unbeaten team.
Out for a long time with a torn Achilles, Michael Bracewell roared on his return 12 months after his last red ball game, grabbing a career-best 8 wickets for just 41 runs in the second innings to bowl Wellington to an innings victory. He chipped in with a handy 40 in the first innings to push Wellington total beyond 400.
Also instrumental in the win were Gareth Severin and Peter Younghusband, who scored 105 and 80 respectively. Their 166-run partnership for the third wicket laid the foundation for a sizeable total.
Younghusband’s handy leg spin bowling helped him collect 7 scalps for the match. Nick Kelly couldn’t quite convert his start into a big score and was sent back for 26, but he’ll be itching to make up for it in the final round.
Wellington Firebirds Predicted Playing XI:
Nick Greenwood, Tim Robinson, Gareth Severin, Nick Kelly, Muhammad Abbas, Tom Blundell (c & wk), Michael Bracewell, Nathan Smith, Logan van Beek, Peter Younghusband, Michael Snedden
Wellington Firebirds Key Players From Previous Game Of Plunket Shield, 2023-24
Wellington Firebirds Actual Playing XI:
Nick Greenwood, Nick Kelly, Tim Robinson, Muhammad Arslan Abbas, Gareth Severin, Ben Sears, Logan van Beek, Nathan Smith, Peter Younghusband, Tom Blundell, Michael Bracewell
PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS
Weather Conditions
The forecast is not too encouraging, with rain expected to intervene at different points across all four days. The surface might have moisture trapped underneath and could be a bit sticky so run scoring could be difficult especially if bowlers get their radar right.
ND vs WELL Pitch Report
The match will be played at the Seddon Park, Hamilton. The home team Northern Districts have won both the matches they got to play here in this season- a dominating innings victory against Otago late last year and a hard-fought win over Auckland a couple of weeks ago.
Toss: To Bowl
In the two matches completed at this venue so far this season, teams winning the toss have gone on to field first. And that’s saying something. We expect the team winning the toss to bowl first and put the opposition batters under the pump in helpful conditions.
ND vs WELL
Winning Prediction
The result of match is going to rely on how Wellington Firebirds’ batsmen will cope against Northern Districts’ pace battery. The extra batting depth that the visitors have at their disposal will allow them to see off the threat posed by the hosts’ bowlers. Wellington, to win.
We are backing Wellington Firebirds as winners of this contest.
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