A lucky break in Auckland’s weather allowed Canterbury to clinch a well deserved DLS win in a top-of-the-table clash with the Aces as The Ford Trophy burst back into business after the conclusion of the Super Smash.
While the Central Stags were roaring after a hard-fought contest in Wellington, and Super Smash champs Northern Districts were done and dusted already, after a dominant win over the Volts in Dunedin; Canterbury and the Aces were sitting through a lengthy afternoon rain break at Kennards Hire Community Oval.
The covers were on with the hosts 81/2, chasing Canterbury’s 384/5. Just 14.4 overs in the second innings was not enough to constitute a game, and it would be a wait of nearly two hours before Canterbury got to get back out there for long enough to claim the honours on DLS.
Canterbury had throughly earned it, to be fair. Henry Nicholls and Tom Latham had both shown all their class with centuries apiece in the top order, while vastly experienced Cole McConchie went on to rustle up his List A career best 4/15, along with his 50th wicket.
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Nicholls (122 off 118) had become the first man to score three hundred in a one-day season for his side, and shared an 132-run opening partnership with Rhys Mariu (44) that took Canterbury almost to the halfway mark after having been sent in.
Latham strode in and galloped to 104 off just 75 balls, supported by Matt Boyle’s 48 at four. The side had barely put a foot wrong all day before the rain came and threatened to split the points between the teams.
But after the weather gods smiled on them, permitting the necessary overs to be played, Canterbury walked off with the satisfaction of having rolled the Aces for 124 in just 19.3 overs, of the 21 overs that had been left.
Lachie Harper (4/31 on his one-day debut, continuing his impressive first Domestic season) as well as McConchie had swung the wrecking ball.
To put that in context, the Aces had been going all right at 81/2 after 14.4 when they’d come off.
The net result was Canterbury took an 84-run DLS win and a five-point lead at the top of the table, after earning their third Ford Trophy bonus point of the summer.
To add salt to the Aces’ wounds, they had also been overtaken for second on the ladder by the Stags whose 18-run win at the Cello Basin Reserve continued their good run of recent results against the capital.
The Firebirds notably had BLACKCAPS allrounder Nathan Smith back from injury for the first time since early December, but the match was delayed and an early lunch taken after the teams turned up to find moisture had seeped under the covers, with a damp line intersecting the pitch on a length.
Nathan Smith | MBUTCHER
The previous day and evening, Wellington had been utterly drenched by heavy, stormy rain. So much so that the Stags spent most of the day flying around in circles above the country before being returned to home base and having to drive or bus to Wellington, arriving at 9.30pm on the eve of the game.
Early lunch was taken as the ground staff worked hard on solving the problem, aided by insolent sunshine and a brisk southerly.
When the toss did take place early in the afternoon for a reduced 36-over game, Nick Kelly had no hesistation in bowling first.
While the deck was a little tricky, there turned out to be good runs on the offer, and boundaries flowed freely.
The Stags produced two century stands — both involving Brad Schmulian — that saw them hurtle to a tally of 307/4 — and ask of RPO 8.5 from the outset for their hosts.
Schmulian wasn’t involved in the Stags’ Super Smash campaign and relished the opportunity to get back in the middle, with a couple of extra shots in his routine arsenal to boot.
The energetic opener reached his fifth List A century off 68 balls with 11 boundaries and three sixes.
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He’d raced out of the blocks in a century-opening stand with Curtis Heaphy (24) who paid Liam Dudding a little more respect.
After a cameo from Will Young, Dean Foxcroft (a good-looking 72 off 39) helped Schmulian put on another hundred for the third.
Schmulian now joins Young and Ross Taylor with five centuries for the Stags in this format, and only George Worker (10) has more for the team.
The middle order slapped some quick late runs around him as he finished unbeaten for a career best 148 not out (unable to get the strike off Clarkson for the last few deliveries), having carried his bat.
Tim Robinson scored his second one-day ton | MBUTCHER
For the Firebirds, even a Tim Robinson century and a second-wicket record of 157 between Robinson and Nick Greenwood for Firebirds one-dayers against the Stags couldn’t quite surmount the challenge thrown down.
Greenwood was a late replacement in the squad and now got to play his 50th List A match (all teams). He marked it with 75 off 60 balls, batting into the 22nd over.
Robinson (100 off 79) went on to his second one-day ton, and looked dangerous with it as he punched, slapped and lifted 12 fours and three sixes.
But they would both fall to spinner Angus Schaw (2/32 off five) right when the Stags should have been feeling a little nervous.
Left-arm spinner and captain Jayden Lennox (2/52) was meanwhile the pick of the bowlers, on a day when few shouts were given — Robinson the exception.
Tom Blundell (51 off 29) tried his best to bludgeon and ramp his way through at the death, but the required rate got away on the Firebirds at the death and the Stags pocketed four points for what had been the midtable clash.
The bottom of the table match in Dunedin was by contrast a one-sided affair as ND thumped the Otago Volts by eight wickets.
Sent in, the Volts foundered with the bat, all out for 148 with only Max Chu propping things up with his 78.
No one else troubled the scorers for more than 14.
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Scott Kuggeleijn took out both openers early — and came back later to remove a second Cumming brother (Zac on debut) and carry on for a tidy bag of 5/32 off his 10.
Fellow opening paceman Zak Gibson also had a good day out with his 2/13 off 8.3, leaving Northern with a comfortable chase.
Although Matt Bason got the solace of a big early wicket in Katene Clarke, once Brett Hampton (43 off 30 at the top) and first drop Fergus Lellman got going, it was a cinch.
Lellman went on to an unbeaten fifty on one-day debut, with captain Robbie O’Donnell spanking an unbeaten 44 off 35 for the bonus point as well.
The result left the southerners winless from six rounds, with their next chance coming up this Saturday at the same venue, against the Firebirds.
The Aces head to Napier hoping to right their ship against the Stags while a big Canterbury-Northern clash looms in Rangiora, all matches free admission and livestreamed on NZC YouTube from 10.30am.
