Stats round up from Ford Trophy final

The Central Stags prevailed over the Auckland Aces at New Plymouth in a match where the advantage fluctuated throughout and it wasn't until the penultimate ball that that the winner was known. It was perhaps fitting that Michael Mason, in what was probably his final match for the Stags, should carry his team to only its fourth one day title in the forty one year history of the New Zealand one day competition.       
    
Mason dominated an unbeaten ninth wicket partnership of fifty nine with Marty Kain which equalled the Stags best against the Aces.  He finished 41 not out which is more than double his previous one day best of 20.  In a situation that mirrors his final first-class match earlier this season in which he claimed his best career bowling figures, Mason then ended his one day career by smashing his highest score.         
  
The Aces were unable to make it back-to-back titles and emulate the Northern Knights who had won the two finals prior to the Aces win over the Canterbury Wizards last season.           
           
Neal Parlane became the first Auckland Aces player to score successive centuries and he did so in his first two innings for them. In his previous ninety seven innings for the Northern Knights and Wellington Firebirds he had managed just the one century.    
         
While this is the first occasion the feat has been performed for Auckland it is the thirteenth time a batsman has scored consecutive centuries in New Zealand domestic one dayers. Bruce Edgar was the first back in 1982. It wasn't until 1996 that Stephen Fleming repeated the feat. In 1997 Mark Richardson and Roger Twose managed to score successive centuries within four days of each other. Stephen Fleming is the only player to have managed the feat twice, once for the Canterbury Wizards and once for the Wellington Firebirds. Others to have scored centuries in successive innings are Mark Douglas, Nathan Astle, Daniel Vettori, Ross Taylor, Brad Watling, Brendon McCullum and Neil Broom.           
           
The foundations for both innings were based on century partnerships for the fourth wicket. Parlane and his skipper, Gareth Hopkins added 111 for the Aces fourth wicket while Dean Robinson continued the impressive start to his one day career by adding 113 with Kruger van Wyk for the Stags fourth wicket. Colin Munro struck his third half-century in four innings for the Aces against the Stags but was ultimately upstaged by Michael Mason's late charge to victory for the Stags.           
           
Mitch McClenaghan finished with the most expensive bowling figures for the Aces against the Stags and was just one run short of equalling Chris Martin's most expensive figures for them against all teams. Ironically Adam Milne also ended with the most expensive figures for Stags against the Aces removing Mitch McClenaghan from the record books.           
           
The six runs Brad Cachopa scored eased him past Craig Cumming to be the top scorer in the Ford Trophy competition this season with 373 runs.  Cumming (368), Michael Papps (337), Anaru Kitchen (333), Tom Latham (332) and George Worker (308) were the other batsmen to top three hundred runs for the season.           

Andy McKay finished top bowler with 18 wickets. Mitch McClenaghan, with three wickets in the Final moved up to 16 wickets while Jimmy Neesham (14), Matt Henry (13) and Michael Mason (12) were the other most successful bowlers.           
           
Gareth Hopkins finished with 14 wicketkeeping dismissals (11 catches and 3 stumpings) well ahead of Kruger van Wyk and Derek de Boorder each with eight catches.  Among the outfielders Harry Boam with 10 catches finished one ahead of Mathew Sinclair.