Aces keep same 12 for crucial clash

MEDIA RELEASE

Friday, 16 March 2012

The Aces have stuck with an unchanged 12 for their crucial Plunket Shield clash with the Northern Knights starting this weekend.

The game between the top two teams looms as a potential title decider, with an outright result for the Knights all but confirming them as champions and a win for the Aces pulling them almost equal with the Knights with one round to play.

However, the significance of the result is not concerning Aces coach Paul Strang or his team.

"We're approaching it like any other game and not getting ahead of ourselves. Our aim, as it has been all season, is to go out there and put together a performance that will win us the game, simple as that."

He will have the same twelve players that did such an effective job against Otago in the last round and is confident about the way his side is playing.

"Our bowlers did an outstanding job in the last game, in particular Mitchell McClenaghan and Bhupinder Singh. And adding to that Gareth Hopkins has scored back to back hundreds, so we've got bastmen in good nick too. I think those individual performances give everyone confidence and we're keen to use that against the Knights."

The twelve to take on the Northern Knights from Sunday is as follows:

Gareth Hopkins (c) (Parnell)
Dean Bartlett (Ellerslie)
Michael Bates (Suburbs New Lynn)
Brad Cachopa (Takapuna)
Colin de Grandhomme (Howick Pakuranga)
Anaru Kitchen (Waitakere City)
Mitchell McClenaghan (Howick Pakuranga)
Bruce Martin (Parnell)
Colin Munro (Howick Pakuranga)
Neal Parlane (East Coast Bays)
Jeet Raval (Suburbs New Lynn)
Bhupinder Singh (Papatoetoe)

ENDS

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