The Ford Trophy, 2019-20: Match 5, Otago vs Wellington – Dream11 Fantasy Cricket Tips – Playing XI, Pitch Report & Injury Update

Match Details:

The 5th match of the Ford Trophy 2019-20 will be played between Otago and Wellington at the Queenstown Events Centre in Queenstown.

The match starts at 11:00 AM local time (10:00 PM GMT – Prev Day) (3:30 AM IST).

Preview:

Otago will play their first home game of the Ford Trophy 2019-20 at the Queenstown Events Centre against Wellington on Thursday. It was Otago and Wellington who faced off in the last season’s final which was won by Wellington. The Otago team began the tournament with a win against Northern Districts in a rain-affected match.

Otago posted 282 thanks to a 122-run knock from Nick Kelly. The Northern Districts were 226/8 in 44.2 overs before the rain intervened the match. The defending champions Wellington started the season with a defeat in the hands of Auckland as they were bowled out for only 191 while batting first.

Weather Condition/Report:

We might witness showers towards the end of the match at the Queenstown Events Centre. However, at least 80 overs of play will be completed by then.

Pitch Condition/Report:

Queenstown Events Centre became famous for recording the then fastest ODI century on the New Year day of 2014. Since then, the venue stood host for five List A matches that did not suffer any interruptions. In all those five matches, the first batting team posted at least 245 runs. The record of chasing teams isn’t good for viewing but most of them were small margin defeats. The venue has not hosted a List A match over the last four years and hence the nature of the pitch remains unpredictable.

Average first innings score: 258 (Unaffected List A matches since 2014)

Record of chasing teams: Won – 1, Lost – 4

Injury and Availability:

Jimmy Neesham is available for this match.

Probable Playing XIs:

Otago:

Nick Kelly, Mitch Renwick (WK), Neil Broom, Dean Foxcroft, Nathan Smith, Anaru Kitchen, Michael Rippon, Josh Finnie, Dale Phillips, Jacob Duffy (C), Matt Bacon.

Bench – Blair Soper.

Wellington:

Andrew Fletcher, Rachin Ravindra, Devon Conway, Michael Bracewell (C), Jimmy Neesham, Jamie Gibson, Lauchie Johns (WK), Malcolm Nofal, Ollie Newton, Jeetan Patel, Logan Van Beek.

Bench – Iain McPeake.

Top Picks:

The 2018/19 Ford Trophy was one of the reasons why Jimmy Neesham has returned to New Zealand’s national side. He aggregated 503 runs in that tournament at an average of 62.87 with two hundreds and three fifties. He also took 13 wickets at a strike rate of 33.2. Only Andrew Fletcher scored more runs than Neesham for Wellington during that tournament. Fletcher finished with 618 runs with three tons and three fifties.

Rachin Ravindra is yet to make an impact in List A cricket but was quite successful as an all-rounder at U19 level. In seven Youth ODIs at home, Rachin aggregated 251 runs with the help of a century and a fifty. With the ball, he picked up 14 wickets at an economy of 22.5. Neil Broom joined Otago squad for this game and had scored three fifties across 11 innings.

Captain and Vice-Captain Selection:

Captain – Dean Foxcroft, Jimmy Neesham, Michael Rippon

Vice-Captain – Andrew Fletcher, Nathan Smith, Neil Broom

Suggested Playing XI No.1 for Fantasy Cricket:

Keeper – Mitch Renwick

Batters – Nick Kelly, Josh Finnie, Andrew Fletcher, Devon Conway

All-Rounders – Jimmy Neesham (C), Dean Foxcroft, Michael Rippon (VC)

Bowlers – Ollie Newton, Logan Van Beek, Nathan Smith

Suggested Playing XI No.2 for Fantasy Cricket:

Keeper – Mitch Renwick

Batters – Andrew Fletcher (VC), Neil Broom, Michael Bracewell

All-Rounders – Rachin Ravindra, Jimmy Neesham, Dean Foxcroft (C), Michael Rippon

Bowlers – Ollie Newton, Jacob Duffy, Nathan Smith

Expert Advice:

Nick Kelly struck 120 while Josh Finnie scored 58 for Otago in the first game. However, both the players have pretty mediocre records when it comes to List A cricket and not consistent enough. Hence, we have not picked them as captain or vice-captain and in fact, picked the duo in only one of the two matches.

Probable Winners:

Wellington is expected to win this match due to inclusion of some big names.

*Disclaimer: This team is based on the understanding, analysis and instinct of the author. While selecting your team, consider the points mentioned and make your own decision.