Otago's John Davies Oval at Queenstown will be on centre stage tomorrow in the State Shield match with Wellington.

The ground is the newest addition to the first-class scene in New Zealand and if its pitch proves anything like those at Carisbrook, in Dunedin, and Molyneux Park, in Alexandra, it will be a very popular venue.

In the lea of the Remarkables, it is the ground to be now used for the visit by England for their three-day game with Otago in March.

However, for Wellington the scenery is not going to be as important as getting away to a good start in the competition so as to take advantage of the absence of New Zealand's leading players with the CLEAR Black Caps for the remaining rounds.

Otago too, after being on the receiving end in the State Championship, will be looking to use this competition to give itself a boost to get among the leading contenders. There is a competitive look to the side in all departments and with the innovator himself coaching the side in Glenn Turner some interesting tactics may emerge.

Otago: Lee Germon (captain), Martyn Croy, Craig Cumming, Chris Gaffaney, Andrew Hore, Brendon McCullum, Nathan McCullum, Warren McSkimming, Craig Pryor, David Sewell, Rob Smith, Kerry Walmsley.

Wellington: Matthew Bell (captain), Chris Nevin, Stephen Fleming, Richard Jones, David Sales, Matthew Walker, James Franklin, Mayu Pasupati, Mark Jefferson, Andrew Penn, Paul Hitchcock, Grant Donaldson.

© CricInfo