2024/25
ROUND SIX
AUCKLAND ACES drew with NORTHERN DISTRICTS
Kennards Hire Community Oval
13-16 March 2025
POINTS IN THIS ROUND:
Northern Districts: 8
Auckland Aces: 7
Wellington Firebirds: 20
Canterbury: 3
Otago Volts: 17
Central Stags: 5
SELECTED MILESTONES
Nathan Robinson: first-class and Auckland Aces debut
Rohit Gulati: first-class debut (Northern Districts)
Cam Fletcher: Auckland Aces captaincy debut, seventh first-class century
Sid Dixit: career best first-class score (74)
Jeet Raval: maiden first-class bag (5/43 previous best before this match: 2/10)
Jeet Raval: career best match analysis (8/55)
Henry Cooper: eighth first-class century
All images: PHOTOSPORT
Adithya Ashok: fourth first-class five-wicket bag
Will O'Donnell: 2,000 first-class career runs
SNAPSHOT:
A combination of the impending IPL and injuries forced changes for both the northernmost squads as they met on a fresh deck at Eden Park's Kennards Hire Community Oval.
The sun-drenched, humid ground had garnered a reputation for being tough to take wickets on, perhaps costing the Auckland Aces in the results column.
New Plunket Shield leader Northern would need an outright if they were to hold on to the competition lead in a tightly contested race at the top, especially after their closest rivals the Wellington Firebirds took the full 20 points from their match against Canterbury.
Kennards turned out to be an excellent venue if you were a leg-spinner - with a potential result on the cards soon enough, but ultimately thwarted by an Auckland captain's knock.
DAY ONE
Northern captain Jeet Raval sent in the Aces on the first morning and, at the opposite end of the day, would make quite the impact in the bowling attack. He was just getting going, as it turned out in a memorable game from the skipper.
The hosts had scratched together 265/7. They had made a strong start - the top order all firing, and youngster Lachie Stackpole enjoying an elevation up the order to an opening role for the first time, now that injured regular captain and top order rock Sean Solia was unavailable.
The 19-year-old Stackpole made a positive 42 in his 82-run stand with anchorman Will O'Donnell (39) before the disappointment of being caught behind, down the leg-side off Scott Kuggelelijn, right before lunch.
O'Donnell was sent on his way on the other side of the break, but first drop Sid Dxit played his best hand yet at this level, settling in to reach a half century before tea, by which time the Aces were 166/4.
On 74 he would fall victim to the golden arm leg-spinner Raval who snaffled a quick (then) career best of 3/12 in his late flurry.
The Aces were 265/7 by stumps, Simon Keene 26* and Louis Delport 28* after having settled things down again, their eight-wicket stand passing 50.
DAY TWO
The hosts went on to a first-innings total of 329 but, by stumps on the second evening, that wasn't looking to be nearly enough.
Northern had cruised to 288/2 by then - well set to dwarf Auckland's effort.
Raval was straight back into it as he contributed a knock of 63 to ND's 140-run opening stand with Henry Cooper.
Cooper carried on to a successive century stand for the second wicket, putting on 131 with Bharat Popli.
They were a dangerous, experienced duo as well, albeit chalk and cheese in their respective styles. Cooper made it his day as he posted his eight first-class century.
With a big one in sight, he would get to 148 before he finally fell to spinner Louis Delport. But Popli wasn't going anywhere before stumps and would return the next day unbeaten on 60*.
Thanks to those collective efforts, Northern was now trailing by just 41 runs, still with eight wickets still in hand and in the box seat early.
DAY THREE
Now it was Adi Ashok's day at the outer oval, as leg-spin continued to do the trick at the ground. He whirled to a haul of 6/110, with a little help from his friends.
Will O'Donnell has carved out a reputation for brilliantly anticipating leg-side catches from slip, and produced yet another outstanding, one-handed example to see Brett Hampton perish on a quick 33.
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Earlier in the innings, O'Donnell had also taken the much more routine catch to end Henry Cooper's big knock after the batter had attempted the perilous reverse sweep on 146. But with the outer oval looking so wan, who could blame him.
Popli had been caught on 89 off paceman Angus Olliver, but spinners Ashok and Delport wrapped up the rest of the innings between them, restricting Northern's first innings lead to 126.
The hosts needed to fight to stay in the game now, and even more so by stumps after they had found themselves 154/6 in their second innings, a lead of just 28 runs.
Incumbent Ashok now needed some magic with the bat, as well, heading back in alongside Cam Fletcher who was meanwhile unbeaten on 30*.
Raval backed up his first innings cameo of 3/12 with 2/2 by the close of play, having removed one of the most experienced of the Aucklanders, opener O'Donnell, on 36; and bowling handy allrounder Simon Keene around his legs cheaply at 140/6.
DAY FOUR
Fletcher put in a big shift for his team, a captain's knock in his first match as the Aces' skipper.
He and fellow overnight batter Ashok survived the morning session unscathed, as the sun continued to beat down - taking their team to 234/6 at the break for a lead of 108 run.
It proved to be a significant session.
Ashok had reached 31* and they went on to a century stand together before Ashok, on 41, belted a return catch to his opposing leg-spinner, the revelling Raval - who picked up his third wicket (and second caught and bowled) of the second innings. He now had six for the match.
Fletcher stayed calm and carried on, bringing up a well deserved, watchful hundred, off 216 balls (9x4, 2x6) shortly before the Aces raised their team 300.
Delport now stood in Northern's way as the last recognised batter, albeit with a batting style that could oscillate between the unpredictable and plain outrageous.
He got a start, and it looked hopeful for the Aces that they could keep rolling through to tea. They did, and by that time they were leading by 214, Fletcher on 123* and Delport in the 30s.
Fletcher decided to keep going after the break, and was left unbeaten on 132* after Raval spun back in for a couple more tailend wickets to snaffle a shock maiden five-wicket bag.
The 36-year-old's 5/43 meant the Aces were all out for 364, an overall lead of 238.
Northern wasn't throwing in the towel just yet, and decided to elevate boundary-hitter Brett Hampton to three, in one last throw of the die.
But almost inevitably the match meandered out to a draw, the teams missing out on valuable outright points as the Firebirds meanwhile deposed ND from the head of the table.
