Three BLACKCAPS Stars Headline First Plunket Shield Squad of 2024/25

Tom Blundell, Devon Conway, and Rachin Ravindra have all been named to play Round 1 of the Plunket Shield for the defending champion Wellington Firebirds.

With less than a month until England is set to embark on their test tour of New Zealand, the Firebirds have welcomed back three mainstays of the BLACKCAPS test side as they ready themselves for the three-match series.

Returning home fresh off a famous 3-0 series win in India, the players will get re-acquainted with New Zealand conditions this week at the Cello Basin Reserve as Auckland provide the opposition for the opening round of the Firebirds’ Plunket Shield Defense.

Tom Blundell will lead the side in the first round of red ball cricket this season, as he did last season when he scored a critical hundred in the decisive match in which the Firebirds hoisted the Plunket Shield on the final day of the 2023/24 summer.

Liam Dudding, who has impressed in early returns for the Firebirds this season in the Ford Trophy, is in line for a potential first-class debut for Wellington tomorrow.

The rest of the squad has a familiar look to the one that Head Coach Shane Jurgensen has relied on through the early part of the season.

Some key contributors are unavailable to Wellington for this Round 1 fixture, as seamers Nathan Smith (BLACKCAPS) and Ben Sears (injury) currently unavailable, with Tim Robinson (BLACKCAPS) and Michael Bracewell (BLACKCAPS) also out for this fixture.

Adam Milne, who was playing for Wellington on a casual basis for Ford Trophy, has not made himself available for selection.

Watch Round 1 of the Plunket Shield live from 10:30am Monday 11 – Thursday 14 November as the Wellington Firebirds take on the Auckland Aces at the Cello Basin Reserve. Entry to the ground is free and live scoring and streaming is available on NZC’s website.

‍

Wellington Firebirds | Plunket Shield Round 1 vs Auckland Aces | Cello Basin Reserve

Tom Blundell (c, wk)

Muhammad Abbas

Devon Conway

Liam Dudding*

Nick Greenwood

James Hartshorn

Nick Kelly

Rachin Ravindra

Gareth Severin

Michael Snedden

Logan van Beek

Peter Younghusband

*denotes potential debut

‍