Abbas Returns from Injury as Firebirds Head North

The impressive 19-year-old allrounder Muhammad Abbas rejoins the Firebirds as they travel to Auckland for Round 4 of the Plunket Shield.

Having missed Round 3 due to a minor injury, Abbas will look to pick up where he left off as a key middle-order bat for the Firebirds.

Scoring 167 runs at an average of 41.75 across his first two games of 2023/24, the 19-year-old finds himself amongst the top 10 Plunket Shield batting averages this season. Building off his already-impressive debut late last season, Abbas is one to watch in the New Zealand domestic scene.

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Recovering a draw at home in Round 3 of the Plunket Shield put the Firebirds joint-first in the standings, coming level with Northern Districts as a result of picking up batting bonus points for runs in the first innings.

The Firebirds head to Auckland as a strong side, boasting the top competition wicket-taker in Nathan Smith and two of the top run-scorers in Nick Kelly(2nd) and Nick Greenwood (7th).

Jesse Tashkoff will not travel with the squad as the lone change from last week.

This is the last round of four-day action until the new year, with a chance for the Firebirds to put themselves firmly in title contention as they head north.

Live streaming and scoring will be available at NZC’s website with play scheduled to begin at 10:30am each day from November 15-18, 2023.

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PLUNKET SHIELD STANDINGS

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WELLINGTON FIREBIRDS | PLUNKET SHIELD ROUND 4 vs AUCKLAND | Kennards Hire Community Oval, November 15th – 18th 2023

Muhammad Abbas

Nick Greenwood

James Hartshorn

Troy Johnson

Nick Kelly (c)

Callum McLachlan (wk)

Tim Robinson

Ben Sears

Gareth Severin

Nathan Smith

Michael Snedden

Peter Younghusband