New Zealand T20 League

2nd Match: WEL vs OTA

Preview:

Wellington is all set to host Otago in Saturday's fixture in the second match of the New Zealand T20 League 2022-23. The highly anticipated match is all set to take place at the Basin Reserve in Wellington on 24th December 2022, which will begin at 07:10 AM IST. It is going to be a thrilling game to watch when both teams will face off against each other for the first time in this league this season.

For the Wellington side, Ollie Newton can make way for Jimmy Neesham in the Otago's line-up for this encounter against them in Basin Reserve this time. Neesham hit 4 runs and took 2 wickets and retained his all-around place the last time when they met in the league. After ending a three-game losing streak last year.

There will have been plenty of soul-searching from the Otago players and management over the last week as they look to turn around their NZ T20 League this time. Realistically, they do not have strength in depth in the squad and we expect the same XI from their previous match. But they will be looking for a fresh start this time and will be looking for an early win.

For Wellington, Finn Allen, Jimmy Neesham and Tim Robinson are the best players to watch out for in tonight's encounter. NZ's all-rounder Neesham can take a game away from the opposition with a bat or ball. Whereas for Otago, Hamish Rutherford, Neil Broom and Nick Kelly will be the key picks for batting recommendations. The left-arm orthodox bowler Rutherford has been the only Otago player to provide consistent scores last season. He will play a huge role for them in today's match if he plays.

There is no injury update from the team management for today’s match between Wellington and Otago in NZ T20 League 2022-23. Therefore, all 22 players are fit to play the match. If there is an injury update just before the match between Wellington and Otago starts, then we will surely update you on this article accordingly.

New Zealand T20 League, begins on 23-12-22 and ends on 11-02-23. A total of 10 matches are scheduled to be played in this New Zealand T20 League. A total of 6 teams will participate in this NZ T20 League. It will be an enthralling contest between these two teams as they look to climb up the ladder early at the start of the campaign. Will the WEL kickoff their campaign with a win or OTA come in the way and stop Wellington from winning?  

Match Details

Match: WEL vs OTA, 2nd Match, New Zealand T20 League

Date: Saturday, December 24, 2022.

Time: 07:10 AM

Venue: Basin Reserve, Wellington

Pitch & Weather Report

For the second match of the NZ T20 League, the pitch of Basin Reserve, Wellington is a balanced surface and supports batters a lot. The team, winning the toss will choose to bat first on this pitch. Meanwhile, the seamers have an advantage on this pitch in the initial overs to get the early breakthrough. The Spinners will surely have an advantage in the middle overs on this pitch. Overall, Wellington's pitch is a batting-friendly pitch. Therefore, we are going to see a high-scoring match between WEL and OTA.

The Weather forecast for the WEL and OTA Match 2 on Saturday, 24 December 2022 at Basin Reserve, Wellington is expected to be mostly cloudy or sunny or clear and rainy. The temperature is anticipated to be around 12℃ with 81% humidity and a wind speed of 20 Km/hr.

WEL vs OTA Squads:

WEL: Tom Blundell, Devon Conway, Lauchie Johns, Callum McLachlan, Finn Allen, Nick Kelly, Troy Johnson, Nick Greenwood, Jakob Bhula, Devan Vishvaka, Tim Robinson, Rachin Ravindra, Michael Bracewell, Logan van Beek, Luke Georgeson, Nathan Smith, Adam Milne, Ben Sears, Ollie Newton, Peter Younghusband, Michael Snedden, Ian McPeake, David Hancock, James Hartshorn, Adam Leonard

OTA: Max Chu, Dale Phillips, Hamish Rutherford, Josh Finnie, Dean Foxcroft, Llew Johnson, Jacob Cumming, Thorn Parkes, Glenn Phillips, Michael Rippon, Jacob Duffy, Michael Rae, Travis Muller, Matthew Bacon, Jake Gibson, Andrew Hazeldine, Ben Lockrose, Jarrod McKay

WEL vs OTA Probable XIs

WEL: Tom Blundell, Devon Conway, Lauchie Johns, Callum McLachlan, Rachin Ravindra, Nick Kelly, Devan Vishvaka, Tim Robinson, Adam Milne, Peter Younghusband, Michael Snedden

OTA: Max Chu, Dale Phillips, Hamish Rutherford, Josh Finnie, Jacob Cumming, Thorn Parkes, Glenn Phillips, Michael Rippon, Travis Muller, Michael Rae, Jacob Duffy

Match Prediction

Although this game brings together two sides in the 2021-22 New Zealand's T20 League as both sides will play their first match of the tournament. We are predicting Otago to win this match against Wellington in this encounter.

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