The Canterbury side had provided some headaches for the selectors, with convener Brian McKechnie saying some 17 players were unavailable for one reason or another.

Apart from the six players with the New Zealand team in Australia another four are involved in ``The Press'' knockout final between Riccarton and North Canterbury; Llorne Howell and Mark Priest are playing in the Max series against an England selection; Shane Bond and Craig Cumming have New Zealand Academy commitments, while Blair Hartland is unavailable, Glenn Muir injured, and Mark Hastings sidelined with a virus. That allows the opportunity to introduce several players, including Marcel McKenzie, James Barrett, and Ryan Burson, all Canterbury age-group representatives. Chris Bell is a lively medium-fast bowler who performed well on the Canterbury Emerging Players tour to Australia last season.

Teams: Canterbury.-- Darrin Murray, James Barrett, Scott Pawson, Lee Germon (captain), Marcel McKenzie, Carlos McGillivray, Mark Lane, Carl Anderson, Chris Bell, Warren Wisneski, Michael Owens, Ryan Burson.

Otago.-- Michael Austen, Lindsay Breen, Andrew Hore, Greg Davis, Ben Hart, Michael Ramsay, Paul Wiseman, Karl O'Dowda, Mark Billcliff, Mark Richardson, Rhiane Smith.