New Zealand T20 League

8th Match: CES vs NOR

Preview

CES and NOR will cross swords for the 8th match of the ongoing New Zealand T20 League. The match will be held at Pukekura Park in New Plymouth. The game will be held on Saturday, December 31 at 6:10 AM. 

CES have won and lost one match each and are placed in third place on the points table. They played their second match against CAK on December 30. The Kings while batting first posted 186 runs with Leo Carter playing an unbeaten knock of 88 runs off 63 balls. Their batting lineup was too good for the Stags' bowling lineup. In the second innings, keeper-batsman Dane Cleaver scored 40 off 31 balls and Josh Clarkson remained unbeaten till the end, smashing 46 off 20 balls to finish off the match in just 19.1 balls. Thus winning the match by 4 wickets, indeed fetching their first win of this tournament. 

NOR are also having the same stats of a win and a loss, but are sitting in the 2nd spot in the league standings because they have a greater net run rate than CES. The Braves faced the Volts in their last fixture. OTA while batting first posted only 123 runs with Michael Rippon scoring 40 runoff 44 balls. It was an easy target to chase and that’s what happened! Mitchell Santner played an unbeaten knock of 41 runs off 20 balls to end the match at just 15.1 over. NOR won the match against OTA by a 7-wicket margin. Their batting and bowling sides were perfectly balanced which was clearly depicted in their gameplay. 

Match Details

Match: CES vs NOR, 8th Match, New Zealand T20 League

Date: Saturday, December 31, 2022

Time: 6:10 AM (Dec 31)

Venue: Pukekura Park, New Plymouth

Pitch & Weather Report

Pukekura Park provides good assistance to the batting side and the skipper winning the toss will definitely opt for chasing the target at this venue. Any score below 130 is easily chasable on this ground. 

The weather is expected to be partly cloudy during the match time. Also, there is a good chance of precipitation but it is unlikely to affect the whole game. However, the climate will favour the pacers. 

CES vs CAK Squads

CES: Ben Smith, Greg Hay, Dane Cleaver (wk), Ross Taylor, Tom Bruce (c), Josh Clarkson, Doug Bracewell, Brett Johnson, Jayden Lennox, Raymond Toole, Brett Randell, Seth Rance

NOR: Tim Seifert (wk), Katene Clarke, Jeet Raval (c), Joe Carter, Mitchell Santner, Brett Hampton, Henry Cooper, Scott Kuggeleijn, Kristian Clarke, Tim Pringle, Joe Walker, Zak Gibson

CES vs CAK Probable XIs

CES: Greg Hay, Ben Smith, Dane Cleaver (wk), Ross Taylor, Tom Bruce (c), Josh Clarkson, Doug Bracewell, Brett Johnson, Jayden Lennox, Raymond Toole, Brett Randell

NOR: Tim Seifert (wk), Katene Clarke, Jeet Raval (c), Joe Carter, Mitchell Santner, Brett Hampton, Henry Cooper, Scott Kuggeleijn, Kristian Clarke, Tim Pringle, Joe Walker

Match Prediction

NOR clearly has a more balanced team than CES. Both made comebacks after losing their first matches of this edition of the New Zealand T20 League, but NOR has more chances of winning this match because of their more complete way of playing which leaves no chance for the opponents to retaliate. 

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