2024/25
ROUND SIX
CANTERBURY lost to the WELLINGTON FIREBIRDS by 19 runs
Mainpower Oval, Rangiora
13-16 March 2025
POINTS IN THIS ROUND:
Wellington Firebirds: 20
Canterbury: 3
Central Stags: 5
Otago Volts: 17
Northern Districts: 8
Auckland Aces: 7
SELECTED MILESTONES
Gareth Severin: 1,000 first-class runs
Cole McConchie: 4,000 first-class runs
Tom Blundell: 4,000 first-class runs
Sam Mycock: Career best first-class score (70)
Jesse Tashkoff: Career best first-class score, maiden half century (55)
Chad Bowes: 11th first-class century (10th for Canterbury)
Henry Nicholls: 18th first-class century (7th for Canterbury),
career best first-class score for Canterbury (171 not out)
Logan van Beek: 10th first-class five-wicket bag (seventh for Firebirds)
All images: PHOTOSPORT
SNAPSHOT:
A fascinating key clash between the second and third teams on the Plunket Shield table, as they were heading into this round, saw Canterbury rolled for double digits - then stage a stellar, near-record comeback.
But despite an incredible fight that featured centuries from both Chad Bowes and a stranded Henry Nicholls, the hosts untimately couldn't stop the defending champions from taking their second full-pointer on the bounce.
With 40 points snatched up in a fortnight, the Firebirds had now well and truly reignited their defence during the back half of the season, jumping up from fourth at the resumption into the interim lead, pending the result in Auckland, on a table that had a very familiar look about it from last season.
March 2024 at Rangiora - Canterbury 526 & 109
— Francis Payne (@FPayne100) March 16, 2025
Difference between innings 417 runs
March 2025 at Rangiora - Canterbury 68 & 483
Difference between innings 415 runs
Wellington won both games#plunketshield
DAY ONE
Every captain who won the toss in this round decided to bowl first and, at Mainpower Oval, that was Canterbury captain Cole McConchie who invited Firebird Tom Blundell to have a bat.
An early wicket fell to big paceman Michael Rae who would bookend this startling match in one way or another.
The remaining opener Gareth Severin stayed at his post, however. He picked his way carefully to 36* by lunch with first drop Sam Mycock for company, the latter in his third first-class match, after having debuted earlier in the summer.
From a position of 82/1 at the lunch break, Mycock's patience was rewarded by his second half century and, ultimately, a new career-best score of 70 before falling in the lead-up to tea.
Canterbury had finally got some more success with the ball in the interim. Momentum was a challenge for the visitors, now, as Mycock had lost three partners. Severin had departed after lunch to Gus McKenzie (3/59) and Fraser Sheat soon stalled Nick Kelly's golden run of centuries.
So by tea, the Firebirds, at 175/4, were perhaps a little behind the mark they would have liked - but with captain Blundell and Mo Abbas keen to make the most of the last session in the afternoon sun.
The pair put on 53 together, got the 200 on the board. Then McConchie delighted in ripping one through Abbas's defences at 210/5.
Blundell went on to equal the top score in the innings with his 70, after an 88-run stand for the sixth wicket with Jesse Tashkoff (55) - the highest of the innings. It provided late runs as the visitors reached 308/6 by stumps, ticking off their third batting bonus point, and positioning well for another on the second morning.
DAY TWO
The top two sides in this season's Plunket Shield - Northern and the Firebirds - would both be in a strong position by the halfway point of the sixth round, after a dramatic afternoon on this day in Rangiora.
Mainpower Oval has traditionally been Canterbury's country fortress with very few losses, but a brilliant second day from the Firebirds saw the startled red-and-blacks rolled for just 68.
It was Canterbury's lowest first-class total since March 2018, and one of their lowest tallies since the days of uncovered pitches (of Canterbury's 26 totals of 68 or fewer runs, 20 of these predate 1950).
The Firebirds' own first innings had reached 350 on the nose and, they'd got that 350th run shortly before the bonus point cut-off mark - so all four batting bonuses were in the bag, despite the late flash from Michael Rippon (2/16) that produced the last wickets in a hurry.
Liam Dudding in particular had got the ball to hoop around as they'd made the Canterbury top order dance, a chain of dominoes rattling the Canterbury batting order.
Dudding enjoyed a venomous opening combination with Logan van Beek (2/14 off 11 overs), the tall, lean paceman returning 4/23 off just 10 overs as he gutted the Canterbury middle order.
The rest of the four-pronged Wellington attack each picked up a tidy brace as the home dressing room door swung hard on its hinges. They ended Canterbury's catastrophic first innings in just 31.3 overs, for a 282-run first innings Wellington lead.
By stumps, the Firebirds were 163/4 in their second dig to now hold a substantial 445-run overall lead, just two days in.
Needless to say, they had banked their full set of eight first-innings bonuses after Canterbury's misfortune.
DAY THREE
Despite no fewer than six Firebirds falling for single-figure scores in their second innings, the drama of the first innings had meant they couldn't do too much wrong from here. Surely?
Half centuries from Severin (a brisk 72) and Abbas (52), in a couple of partnerships, was all it took for the Firebirds to set Canterbury a tough chase of 503 in the last innings. Indeed, that would have required a national record fourth innings total.
But stranger things have happened in cricket.
Canterbury's collective performance with the ball might have consoled them a little, having dismissed the Firebirds inside 66 overs - young Cam Paul taking 3/66.
Tight work from Rae and McKenzie had kept the pressure on and, after the last wicket, Canterbury was back out there with the bat, and no shortage of resolve to make amends, still in the first session of the day.
Rhys Mariu and Chad Bowes kept the opening partnership intact to lunch at 44/0. Bowes was not going to miss out twice, and was in an aggressive mood as he raced to his half ton off just 33 balls.
His cracking century would come up almost as quickly: off 70 balls, in less than two hours, and it was laced with 14 boundaries and two sixes.
It was just what the Canterbury side had needed to get off the rope and back into the ring, spirits lifted, innings turbo-blasted.
Logan van Beek had meanwhile struck early again, Mariu miscuing and slamming a skier that had so much snow on it that Blundell did well to pouch it cleanly.
That was at 62/1, in the 13th. He would come back for the big wicket of Bowes, trapping him plumb after his 85-ball 114, at 157/2.
By tea, the experienced firm of Henry Nicholls and McConchie both had starts as Canterbury continued to fight back positively. Something good was brewing here, for the hosts.
They were both in the 80s by the end of the day, the strong top order bringing Canterbury right back into the contest. They now needed a further 202 to win with eight wickets still in hand and a whole day left to get them as they plotted their great escape.
DAY FOUR
Nicholls and McConchie resumed at 301/2 with an unbroken 144* run partnership, as the Firebirds went after the last eight wickets standing in their way.
Canterbury's fourth innings equation required a dig into the history books:
• The highest ever fourth innings total had ever chased down to win a match was 473/6 against Auckland in December 1930, at the old Lancaster Park
• The national record, held by Wellington against Canterbury is 475/4, 30 years ago, also at Lancaster Park - an innings in which Martin Crowe contributed an unbeaten 193*.
• 495 is the most a losing side has scored in the fourth innings in New Zealand (Otago against Wellington, at Carisbrook more than a century ago, in January 1924).
So, if the modern-day Canterbury cricketers could pull this one off, it was going to go down in the books - and would likely stay there for some time.
Van Beek had other plans. Coming in for the eighth over of the morning in a double change with Dudding, he soon trapped McConchie on 89, ending the robust third-wicket stand on 169.
For his next trick, he swiftly removed left-hander Matt Boyle to suddenly have the hosts 330/4.
Captain Blundell cycled back to the pairing of Abbas and Michael Snedden to make the most of the morning conditions, and soon Snedden had his first: Michael Rippon looking to hook, but only succeeding in picking out Severin.
Nicholls watched on, now on 115*, having reached his century just before McConchie got out.
The tone of the chase had changed a tad and, by lunch, Canterbury was 388 for five, still needing 115 runs and not to do anything silly.
Nicholls took that to heart. He was still there at tea, unbeaten on 160*.
Incredibly, Canterbury now needed just 39 runs off the remaining 29 overs in the day, at a heroic 464/7 in the fourth innings, three wickets in hand, and time running out for the desperate Firebirds as long as Nicholls was in charge.
Van Beek was sitting on four, Peter Younghusband had picked up two. Every ball was a spectacle. Could the last three wickets come quickly enough to get the Wellingtonians their second 20-pointer in a row?
The drama went up a notch in the first over after tea. Nicholls picked a single off Younghusband's first ball, then Gus McKenzie saw off the next few balls until the last ball of the over - when he was trapped.
Eight down.
Now it was Fraser Sheat's turn to accompany the maestro, but Sheat lasted just four overs before becoming Younghusband's fourth victim of the innings: Sheat slammed a low return catch that was gleefully accepted by the bowler who finished with 4/131, and not even having been required to bowl in the first innings.
Nicholls, on 164*, was joined by a no-doubt nervous last man Rae, a genuine number 11. There were still 29 runs required to make history, and Nicholls's attention turned to protecting Rae from the strike against Younghusband.
This was going to be an edge-of-the-seat finish, folks.
Blundell cannily decided it was time to bring back van Beek again. The paceman had bowled 33 overs in the innings to date - but it would last for only more delivery.
His guided missile was too quick for Rae and neatly zeroed in on the top off off. Rae was heartbroken. Canterbury was dismissed for 483 after 146.1 overs of remarkable toil.
Van Beek had not only won the crazy match by 19 runs, but had finished with his 10th first-class bag in the process.
All Nicholls could do was look on, his valiant nine-hour vigil over. He was unbeaten on 171, his best score for his lifelong Domestic team, as the whooping started.
