Wellington batsman Finn Allen will make his List A debut for the Wellington Firebirds when they take-on the Auckland Aces in round five of the Ford Trophy at Eden Park Outer Oval tomorrow.

The 21-year-old has been unavailable for the opening four rounds of the one-day competition recovering from concussion but will return to face his old side for the first time since making the switch South over the winter.

“It’s great to be able to welcome Finn back into the side after what has been a frustrating period for him,” said Firebirds head coach Glenn Pocknall.

“He has been itching to get back out there and play some cricket so we’re looking forward to seeing what he can bring to the team performance tomorrow.

“It was pleasing to get the first win of the competition last week and we want to build on that and generate some momentum now moving forward.”

The Firebirds are without a number of key players for tomorrow’s match – Tom Blundell and Devon Conway are on Test duty for the BLACKCAPS at the Basin Reserve, while Jimmy Neesham, Rachin Ravindra and regular captain Michael Bracewell are all on New Zealand A duty in Nelson.

There are also key faces missing in the bowling stocks with Hamish Bennett, Logan van Beek, Ollie Newton and Ben Sears all unavailable due to injury.

James Hartshorn, who made his List A debut for Wellington against Canterbury two weeks ago, is included, alongside bowler Adam Leonard and batsman Nick Greenwood who would both make their List A debuts if selected.

Fraser Colson will captain the side.

Play gets underway from 11.00am at Eden Park Outer Oval in Auckland – spectator entry is free.

Wellington Firebirds squad | Ford Trophy | Round Five
Fraser Colson (c)
Finn Allen
Jakob Bhula
Andrew Fletcher
Jamie Gibson
Nick Greenwood
James Hartshorn
Lauchie Johns (wk)
Troy Johnson
Adam Leonard
Iain McPeake
Michael Snedden
Peter Younghusband

Article added: Saturday 12 December 2020