Northern Districts vs Central Districts Match Prediction

Northern Districts vs Central Districts Match Prediction.

Northern Districts will take on Central Districts in their respective fifth match of the Plunket Shield at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui from Sunday, March 5. The action will kick start from 3 AM IST.

Bet on Plunket Shield

Central Districts (46) are placed third in the 6-team points table, while Northern Districts (39) are occupying the fourth spot. Canterbury (71) are the table-toppers with Wellington (53) following them in second position.

The match will give Central Districts the opportunity to bounce back at number two if Wellington lose their match. Likewise, Northern Districts can jump to the third spot after beating Central Districts

Facts

  • Northern Districts' Bharat Popli is the second-highest run-scorer in the Plunket Shield 2022-23. He has scored 428 runs at an average of 47.55.
  • Doug Bracewell has picked 20 wickets at an average of 17.55 and scored 175 runs at a batting average of 29.16.
  • MItchell Santner featured in Northern Districts' playing XI in the last match. He scored 85 runs across two innings and also picked a wicket.

Northern Districts vs Central Districts Chance of Winning

Northern Districts are the favourites to win the match against Central Districts. There are multiple reasons behind it. Northern Districts have a power-packed batting line-up with the likes of Bharat Popli (428), Jeet Raval (364), Henry Cooper (370) and Tim Seifert (207) scoring decent number of runs. Seifert hasn't performed to his best but New Zealand remains a consistent threat. Veteran all-rounder Colin De Garndhomme is also available for the match and this will also give Northern Districts a major boost. He has scored 173 runs and picked seven wickets in three matches of the Plunket Shield 2022-23 so far.

The bowling department were more than decent in their last encounter against table-toppers Canterbury. Brett Hampton picked a five-wicket haul in the first innings, while Scott Johnston picked five wickets in the second innings. They gave a tough time to Canterbury who lost six wickets while chasing 178. Kristian Clarke did not pick wickets but remains a proper threat. Even in the absence of their senior pacer Neil Wagner, Northern Districts bowlers did a decent job. Mitchell Santner also featured in the side's last match and provided variation to the attack with his world-class spin bowling.

Central Districts' last match against Auckland was postponed and they lack game time in this format. Moreover, their star batter Will Young and prolific pacer Blair Tickner would not feature in the match as they are part of the New Zealand squad for Sri Lanka Tests. That dents both their departments. The onus of the batting will fall heavily on Tom Bruce and Ben Schmulian. No batter from the side apart from these two has more than 175. In fact, there is no batter apart from Bruce and Schmulian with more than 150 runs at an average over 30.

Likewise in the pace department, Doug Bracewell has been the only effective bowler with 20 scalps in four matches. Raymond Toole have't played for a while Brett Randell who has mostly played T20 matches lately hasn't been at his best.

There is a problem of plenty for Central Districts and that gives Northern Districts an upper hand.

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Northern Districts vs Central Districts Tournament Prediction & Betting Tips 2023

Northern Districts can emerge as the dark horse in the tournament but Canterbury and Wellington are unlikely to give up on their lead. They face second-placed Wellington and then Auckland in their last two matches. Their chance of emerging as champions of the season isn't strong.

Same goes for Central Districts who will be without Will Young and Blair Tickner for their last three matches. Even if the bowling unit picks itself up, the batting unit has a lot to do. They are very unlikely to finish in the top-three of top-two, forget being the champions of the season.

Northern Districts vs Central Districts Match Toss Prediction

Otago elected to field first against Northern Districts in the last match at the Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui. That has been the trend in most of the matches. The overcast situations will further tempt the teams to bowl first.

Weather Report

The opening two days have rain on cards. Bright sunshine is expected on the third day. It will again be cloudy on the fourth day. The temperature will hover around 21-23 degree celsius.

Northern Districts Player List

Northern Districts Squad

Bharat Popli, Fergus Lellman, Henry Cooper, Jeet Raval, Joe Carter, Kane Williamson, Katene Clarke, Peter Drysdale, Sam Varcoe, Sandeep Patel, Tim Pringle, Brett Hampton, Chris Swanson, Colin de Grandhomme, Joe Walker, Kristian Clarke, Mitchell Santner, Scott Kuggeleijn, Ben Pomare (wk), Peter Bocock (wk), Tim Seifert (wk), Anurag Verma, Brett Randell, Frederick Walker, Ish Sodhi (c), Josh Brown, Matthew Fisher, Neil Wagner, Scott Johnston, Tim Southee, Trent Boult, and Zak Gibson.

Northern Districts Predicted XI

Jeet Raval

Batsman

Henry Cooper

Batsman

Bharat Popli

Batsman

Tim Seifert

Batsman and wicket-keeper

Brett Hampton

All-rounder

Colin De Garndhomme

All-rounder

Mitchell Santner

All-rounder

Katene Clarke

Batter

Fergus Lellman

Bowler

Kristian Clarke

Bolwer

Joe Walker

Bowler

Northern Districts Team Form

Northern Districts lost their first match against Canterbury by one wicket. Their second match against Otago had ended in a draw. In the third match, Central Districts defeated Northern Districts by 279 runs. Northern Districts finally defeated Otago by five wickets to win their first match of the season. In their last match against Canterbury, they lost by four wickets.

Central Districts Player List

Central Districts Squad

Bharat Popli, Fergus Lellman, Henry Cooper, Jeet Raval, Joe Carter, Kane Williamson, Katene Clarke, Peter Drysdale, Sam Varcoe, Sandeep Patel, Tim Pringle, Brett Hampton, Chris Swanson, Colin de Grandhomme, Joe Walker, Kristian Clarke, Mitchell Santner, Scott Kuggeleijn, Ben Pomare (wk), Peter Bocock (wk), Tim Seifert (wk), Anurag Verma, Brett Randell, Frederick Walker, Ish Sodhi (c), Josh Brown, Matthew Fisher, Neil Wagner, Scott Johnston, Tim Southee, Trent Boult, and Zak Gibson.

Central Districts Predicted XI

Batsman

Curtis Heaphy

Batsman

Brad Schmulian

Batter

Dane Cleaver

Batsman and Wicket-keeper

Tom Bruce (c)

Batsman

Josh Clarkson

All-rounder

Doug Bracewel

All-rounder

Ajaz Patel

Bowler

Raymond Toole

Bowler

Brett Randell

Bowler

Liam Dudding

Bowler

Central Districts Team Form

Central Districts kicked off their campaign with a draw against Canterbury. They later defeated Auckland by 99 runs and Northern Districts by 279 runs. In their fourth match, they lost to Wellington by 68 runs. Their last match against Auckland was postponed.

Northern Districts vs Central Districts Aces Head to Head

Both the teams have won two matches each in their last five clashes against each other. Northern Districts won back-to-back two matches in 2020 and 2022. Their second match in 2022 ended in a draw. Central Districts won the last match in November 2022.

Northern Districts vs Central Districts Betting Odds

Northern Districts to win

Northern Districts are the likely winners in their match against Central Districts. Northern Districts batters are in good form and two of their bowlers picked a five-wicket haul in the side's last match against table-toppers Canterbury. Veteran all-rounder Colin De Garndhomme is also available for the match and this will also give Northern Districts a major boost.

Central Districts, on the other hand a batting order to worry about. Their star batter Will Young will not feature due to international commitments and same will be the reason for pacer Blair Tickner's absence. What will also hurt Central Districts is that they last played a Plunket Shield match back in November and adapting to the format suddenly won't be easy. Notably, their last match against Auckland for postponed.

The likes of Santner, Popli, Raval, Cooper and Seifert put Northern Districts way ahead of Central Districts.

Northern Districts vs Central Districts Top Team Batsmen

Tim Seifert to be Northern Districts' top batter

New Zealand international Tim Seifert can emerge as the top batter for his team against Central Districts. The batter has been eyeing an international comeback for a while and the remaining three matches of Plunket Shield can give him that perfect opportunity. For now, he has scored 207 runs in five matches at an average of 23. Overall, he has scored 3193 runs in 60 first-class matches at an average of 32.91.

Tom Bruce to be Central Districts' top batter

Central Districts batter Tom Bruce is the leading run-scorer for his team in the Plunket Shield 2022-23. He has scored 390 runs in four matches at an average of 55.71. One hundred and three fifties have come off his blade. Overall, he has played 65 first-class matches and scored 4381 runs at an average of 47.10.

Northern Districts vs Central Districts top bowler

Brett Hampton to be Northern Districts' top bowler

31-year-old pacer Brett Hampton picked six wickets in the first innings of his last outing against Canterbury. He would be aiming to take the form into the match against Central Districts. Overall, he has picked nine wickets in the season at an average of 24.11. He has played in 20 first-class matches and picked 33 wickets.

Doug Bracewell to be Central Districts' top bowler

The Central Districts pacer has picked 20 wickets at an average of 17.55 so far. He is the leading wicket-taker for his team by nine wickets. The talented New Zealand International has featured in 118 first-class matches and picked 368 wickets at an average of 31.66.

Our Prediction

Favorites to win: Northern Districts

Northern Districts are the likely winners in their match against Central Districts. Northern Districts batters are in good form and two of their bowlers picked a five-wicket haul in the side's last match against table-toppers Canterbury. Veteran all-rounder Colin De Garndhomme is also available for the match and this will also give Northern Districts a major boost.

Central Districts, on the other hand a batting order to worry about. Their star batter Will Young will not feature due to international commitments and same will be the reason for pacer Blair Tickner's absence. What will also hurt Central Districts is that they last played a Plunket Shield match back in November and adapting to the format suddenly won't be easy. Notably, their last match against Auckland for postponed.

The likes of Santner, Popli, Raval, Cooper and Seifert put Northern Districts way ahead of Central Districts.

Northern Districts to win @ 1.74 (Melbet)

Central Districts to win @ 2.01 (Melbet)

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Shankar Shekh

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