Papakura will look to bounce back from a disappointing Duthie Cup opening round loss to Karaka when they travel to War Memorial Park to face Manukau City on Saturday.
The young Papakura side were competitive in the Inder Lynch T20 competition a fortnight ago but were soundly beaten by Karaka last weekend at Karaka Sports Complex.
The onus will be on the new-look Papakura top order to set a better platform this week.
They are without brothers Hayden and Cory Dickson, who are not playing this season, as well as leading batsman Hemadri Chakraborty – all three were key contributors last summer but there is plenty of raw talent within their mix and one good performance could unlock their confidence.
Sam Singh made an impression with the ball last week, knocking over the star-studded Karaka top order with three wickets.
With some run support, they could cause Manukau City some concerns.
Rikesh Patel has started the season in top form, scoring runs in the T20 matches before a century last week for Manukau City.
With all-rounder Scott Johnston picking up a haul of wickets as well, Manukau City will be favourites to win.
Southern Counties will travel to Karaka Sports Complex to meet a Karaka side full of confidence after a strong start to the season.
Skipper Luke Williamson, Sam Varcoe and Dan Power have all been in the runs in the opening fortnight while Michael Schofield has consistently picked up wickets.
Southern Counties will look to key players like opening bowler Andrew Goodare, all-rounder Kerwyn Oppert and batsman Sam Saunokonoko to try and help them to a maiden win.
Goodare has impressed with the ball and his battle with the Karaka top order will be worth keeping an eye on.
Weymouth hosts Pukekohe Metro in the final match of the round. The visitors bounced back after a disappointing T20 weekend to pick up a comfortable win last week while Weymouth go off to a flyer in the T20 competition but came back to earth against Manukau City last weekend.
Navigating the Pukekohe Metro spin twins of Cameron Hardwick and Kurt Barnes will be key for the Weymouth batsmen.
Pukekohe Metro have match-winners right throughout their line-up and will be eager to continue the form they found last week.
Recent Comments