Four Bay of Plenty players have been named in a 12 man Northern Districts squad to take on Canterbury at Hagley Oval today, Sunday December 18.

The four players are Bharat Popli, Brett Hampton, Peter Drysdale and Tim Pringle. BLACKCAPS star Mitch Santner has also been named.

Santner is the only addition to the squad that beat Wellington Firebirds at Basin Reserve on Wednesday in a match where over 700 runs were scored on the day.

Northern Districts are tied top on the Ford Trophy table after a strong start to the competition, with three wins and a N/R after five games.

It was their batting that dominated the last game, posting a massive 381/5, ND's second highest score in List A history. Tim Seifert smashed 103, whilst Raval and Clarke made quickfire half-centuries.

With the ball, Wellington themselves got off to a fast start through Finn Allen before Pringle (2/65) and Johnston (2/29) broke the back of the chase, removing a star-studded top order. Wickets were shared around with every bowler used contributing with one.

Debutant Scott Johnston, who dismissed BLACKCAPS pair Rachin Ravindra and Michael Bracewell says "The batters did a superb job posting a huge total. It took the pressure of our bowlers knowing we had plenty of runs to defend.

"I really enjoyed the game; an awesome ground to make my debut and there's so much experience in the side to call on,' says Scott.

"We bowled well early and created a couple of chances despite their fast start. They have a really strong BLACKCAPS top order and batted well early, but we pegged them back and took our chances in the field."

The Northern Districts squad travelled to Canterbury a couple of days out from their final game of the calendar year.

"There's a really relaxed atmosphere ahead of Sunday's game,' says Scott. "It's great to have a world class all-rounder in Match Santer back in the side. We all know the quality that he'll bring to the team."

Northern Districts vs Canterbury will be live scored and streamed on nzc.nz. The toss will take place at 10.30am with the first ball at 11.00am.

NORTHERN DISTRICTS MEN V CANTERBURY

SUNDAY 18 DECEMBER 18

HAGLEY OVAL, CHRISTCHURCH