The Mondiale Auckland Aces will have a strong squad mix for the 2015/16 season with a combination of proven talent and exciting new faces.
Promising youngsters Shawn Hicks and Glenn Phillips have been offered their first contracts and will be looking to further develop their impressive talents. Hicks will offer the side both batting and bowling options, while Phillips brings strong batting credentials and is a wicketkeeper.
A settled core side of returning Mondiale Auckland Aces featuring Colin Munro, Rob Nicol, Colin de Grandhomme, Michael Bates and Tarun Nethula will help the pair hone their skills. The team as a whole will be looking to break through with a competition victory after finishing second in all three formats last season.
Those disappointments will no doubt serve as extra motivation for what is an exciting squad.
Auckland Cricket High Performance Manager Paul MacKinnon believes the side will have good balance.
“We are very pleased to have such a strong mixture of experience and youth in the team for this season. It’s particularly pleasing that two players who have been strongly involved in age group representative teams in Auckland will be full members of the squad this year. We’re also looking forward to seeing senior guys like Rob Nicol, Michael Bates and Tarun Nethula continue to provide strong leadership for the side.”
Glenn Phillips debuted for the Mondiale Auckland Aces last season playing in the later stages of the Ford Trophy and was involved in the Plunket Shield team. Shawn Hicks has been lucky enough to spend the New Zealand winter in England after being given a scholarship to play with the prestigious Marylebone Cricket Club Young Cricketers Team.
Warren Barnes, Dean Bartlett, Carl Cachopa and Anaru Kitchen won’t be a part of the team this year. Barnes and Kitchen are heading to Otago. Bartlett has moved to a post cricket career as manager of Cornwall Cricket Club and Cachopa is currently playing in England.
The first 14 players offered Mondiale Auckland Aces contracts for the 2015/16 season in alphabetical order are as follows:
Michael Bates
Brad Cachopa
Colin de Grandhomme
Lockie Ferguson
Donovan Grobbelaar
Michael Guptill-Bunce
Shawn Hicks
Colin Munro
Tarun Nethula
Rob Nicol (Captain)
Robert O’Donnell
Glenn Phillips
Matt Quinn
Jeet Raval
The final player offered a contract will be announced on August 10th.
A host of returning players will have the chance to further their international credentials on the BLACKCAPS tour of Zimbabwe and South Africa, starting early next month.
Batsmen Tom Latham and Colin Munro have been included for the tour, while Adam Milne and James Neesham will return to the fray following lengthy lay-offs due to injury.
The one new face to the ODI squad is leg-spinner Ish Sodhi, who has been included for the Zimbabwe leg only, before making way for Doug Bracewell in the South African series.
Trent Boult (injured), Corey Anderson (injured), Brendon McCullum (rested) and Tim Southee (rested) are the frontline players missing from the touring party.
BLACKCAPS coach and selector Mike Hesson said the choice of Sodhi for Zimbabwe and Bracewell for South Africa was very much a matter of picking horses for courses.
“We think Ish will be useful on pitches which tend to be slow and take turn, and against a Zimbabwe team stacked with right-handers”, said Hesson.
“But we’re unlikely to need a third spinner in South Africa, which is why we’ve opted for another seamer in Doug.”
Hesson said the absence of four front-liners meant new opportunities for several BLACKCAPS.
“There are chances there for batsmen such as Tom and Colin, for Ish and for a handful of bowlers,” he said.
“And, not least, it’s another good opportunity for (stand-in captain) Kane Williamson to continue upskilling in terms of leadership.”
However, Hesson said the absence of McCullum, Southee, Boult and Anderson would not lessen the sense of expectation surrounding the BLACKCAPS squad.
“This is a team which has built up an impressive record on the international circuit in recent times and the expectation is that we continue to perform, regardless of who might be missing.
“We were also without some key players (McCullum, Southee and Boult) on last summer’s away series against Pakistan, and still managed to win 3-2 – thanks to other players stepping up.
“Our focus is on continuing to produce strong team performances, rather than be distracted by the presence or absence of specific individuals.”
The majority of the squad will assemble at a training camp in Potchefstroom before heading to Harare for the opening ODI.
BLACKCAPS squad for Zimbabwe and South Africa:
Kane Williamson (captain)
Doug Bracewell (South Africa only)
Grant Elliott
Martin Guptill
Matt Henry
Tom Latham
Mitchell McClenaghan
Nathan McCullum
Adam Milne
Colin Munro
James Neesham
Luke Ronchi
Mitchell Santner
Ish Sodhi (Zimbabwe only)
Ross Taylor
Ben Wheeler
Tour Schedule:
2 August v Zimbabwe, Harare, 1st ODI
4 August v Zimbabwe, Harare, 2nd ODI
7 August v Zimbabwe, Harare, 3rd ODI
9 August v Zimbabwe, Harare, T20
14 August v South Africa, Durban, 1st T20
16 August v South Africa, Centurion, 2nd T20
19 August v South Africa, Centurion, 1st ODI
23 August v South Africa, Potchefstroom, 2nd ODI
26 August v South Africa, Durban, 3rd ODI
(courtesy of blackcaps.co.nz)
The inclusion of one new player and the return of two others – these are the features of the 20-strong BLACKCAPS contracts list announced for the year 1 August 2015 to 31 July 2016.
Northern Knights all-rounder Mitchell Santner will make his first appearance on the list of centrally-contracted players, while pace bowler Doug Bracewell and World Cup star Grant Elliott return after previously being included in the 2013-2014 season.
BLACKCAPS coach and selector Mike Hesson said Santner – a left-handed batsman and left-arm orthodox spin bowler, sealed his inclusion after an encouraging debut tour of England, where the 23-year-old played in all five one-day internationals, and the T20 match at Manchester.
“Mitch is a player of genuine all-round ability,” said Hesson. “His appearance on this list is recognition of where we see his skills in all three forms of the game.
“My feeling is that we’ll see a lot more of him with the bat, in particular, as he gains more experience.”
Hesson said Bracewell and Elliott had forced their way back onto the list through the sheer weight of their recent performances.
“Grant hasn’t had a contract for a while but returns on the back of excellent recent form, including the World Cup. He’s a valuable member of our short-form sides.
“Doug deserved to return. He’s performed strongly and forced his way back into the fold – ultimately in longer-form cricket, although we continue to see him as a multi-skilled player.”
Hesson said the depth of international quality players being developed in New Zealand could be gauged by the quality of those who missed out on this occasion.
Spinner Ish Sodhi and all-rounder Colin Munro are missing from last year’s intake, as is Kyle Mills, who has retired from international cricket.
A set criteria is used to rank players across all three forms of the game, with Tests receiving twice the weighting of One Day Internationals and Twenty20 Internationals.
The players with the 20 highest aggregate scores are then offered NZC contracts.
The first round of Major Association contracts will be announced on 22 July.
The 20 players offered BLACKCAPS contracts for the 2015-2016 year are:
Corey Anderson – Northern Knights
Doug Bracewell – Central Stags
Trent Boult – Northern Knights
Mark Craig – Otago Volts
Martin Guptill – Auckland Aces
Grant Elliott – Wellington Firebirds
Matt Henry – Canterbury
Tom Latham – Canterbury
Mitchell McClenaghan – Auckland Aces
Brendon McCullum – Otago Volts
Nathan McCullum – Otago Volts
Adam Milne – Central Stags
Jimmy Neesham – Otago Volts
Luke Ronchi – Wellington Firebirds
Mitchell Santner – Northern Knights
Tim Southee – Northern Knights
Ross Taylor – Central Stags
Neil Wagner – Otago Volts
BJ Watling – Northern Knights
Kane Williamson – Northern Knights
The Mondiale Auckland Aces will have a very familiar face at the helm for the upcoming season with the announcement that Mark O’Donnell will take over as coach.
O’Donnell was previously in charge of the side for seven seasons from 2002/03 to 2008/09 and has been the batting coach for the Mondiale Aces for the past two seasons.
In his last tenure as coach O’Donnell helped the Mondiale Aces to five titles including three in the four day format. Since then he has been involved with the BLACKCAPS as well as Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL.
Auckland Cricket CEO Mark Cameron commented that the selection panel wanted a coach that would deliver results for the 2015/16 season.
“Mark has a great record as a coach both for Auckland and elsewhere and we’re very confident that he will be able to continue that success with the Mondiale Aces. He obviously knows our set-up well and the players are very familiar with him, given his recent role as batting coach – it’s a great fit.”
O’Donnell echoed that sentiment and expressed his eagerness to get started.
“I’m obviously very pleased to be appointed and am really looking forward to getting into it. I’ve got a good knowledge of the operation and the players and want to use that to help us challenge for titles in the coming season.”
O’Donnell takes over from Matt Horne who elected not to stand for reappointment.
To complete the coaching and management team around the Mondiale Aces an Assistant Coach/Manager will be appointed in the near future.
The White Ferns squad just announced for a tour to India in June/July contains four Auckland Hearts players – Maddy Green, Georgia Guy, Katie Perkins and Anna Peterson.
The series starting next month will comprise five One Day Internationals and three Twenty20s against the hosts.
The first three ODIs, all of which will be played at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, will count towards the ICC Women’s Championship. The series then shifts for the three Twenty20s, all of which will be played at Alur in Karnataka.
In what will be her first tour as Coach, Haidee Tiffen said both she and the team were excited about the challenge ahead.
“We haven’t faced India a lot in recent times, but they’re a team that are growing and will be a tough task, especially in their own conditions,” said Tiffen.
“But we have high expectations for ourselves and expect to make it tough for them as well. With championship points on the line, there’s no shortage of incentive and we’ll be doing everything possible to get an important series win.”
White Ferns squad v India
Suzie Bates (C) – Otago Sparks
Kate Broadmore – Central Hinds
Sophie Devine (VC) – Wellington
Natalie Dodd – Northern Spirit
Maddy Green – Auckland Hearts
Georgia Guy – Auckland Hearts
Leigh Kasperek – Otago Sparks
Morna Nielsen – Otago Sparks
Katie Perkins – Auckland Hearts
Anna Peterson – Auckland Hearts
Rachel Priest – Wellington Blaze
Hannah Rowe – Central Hinds
Amy Satterthwaite – Canterbury Magicians
Lea Tahuhu – Canterbury Magicians
There are three changes from the squad which recently faced England, with Natalie Dodd and Maddy Green recalled and Leigh Kasperek in line to make her White Ferns debut.
Kasperek, who formerly played for the Scotland women’s team, becomes eligible after playing the last three domestic seasons in New Zealand.
Sara McGlashan and Erin Bermingham were both unavailable due to work commitments, while Holly Huddleston also drops out of the squad.
Tiffen said 23-year-old Kasperek was a bright prospect and thoroughly deserved her call-up.
“Leigh’s an all-round talent. She spins the ball, is a dynamic batsman and an outstanding fielder, so she ticks all the boxes and it’s exciting to see her get this opportunity.
“Overall we’re really pleased with the balance of the squad, with plenty of pace and spin options for the sub-continent conditions. India have two batsmen ranked in the top five in the world, so we know we’ll have to be on top of our game with the ball.
“Our top order has plenty of experience in it as well, so that should help us adjust to the pitches over there quickly. We know what’s required and look forward to getting over there and giving it our all.”
Schedule
26 June 50 over warm up match M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru
28 June 1st ODI M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru
01 July 2nd ODI M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru
03 July 3rd ODI M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru
06 July 4th ODI M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru
08 July 5th ODI M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru
11 July 1st T20 Alur, Karnataka
13 July 2nd T20 Alur, Karnataka
15 July 3rd T20 Alur, Karnataka
(article courtesy of blackcaps.co.nz)
Mondiale Auckland Aces and BLAKCAPS batsman Martin Guptill struck his maiden first-class double century to put Derbyshire in a strong position in their English county match against Gloucestershire at Bristol today.
Guptill revived memories of his World Cup quarter-final double century against the West Indies as he hit 227 off just 176 balls to push Derbyshire to 511 for eight at stumps on the second day of the match. They lead Gloucestershire by 236 runs.
Guptill, batting at No 3, went to his double century with three successive sixes off Liam Norwell on a day Gloucestershire spilled six catching chances. He struck 29 fours and 11 sixes in compiling his 10th first-class century.
The innings surpassed Guptill’s previous best first-class score, 195 not out against Canterbury at Rangiora in 2011.
“It was the sort of pitch where I thought if I tried to bat time I would get a nick so I decided to go for it. When you take that approach you need a bit of luck and I had some today,” Guptill told the Derbyshire Cricket website.
“When the second new ball was taken I started trying to hit everything out of the park. It was harder, so it came off the bat better.
“It’s taken me quite a few games to hit a first class double hundred. I got stranded on 195 a few years ago for Auckland and it’s nice to have reached the landmark.”
(article courtesy of nzherald.co.nz)
Hard-hitting Auckland batsman Colin Munro has been handed the opportunity of a lifetime, being drafted into the Indian Premier League by the Mumbai Indians.
The one-test batsman has been called in to replace injured Australian opener Aaron Finch, while Mumbai’s New Zealand allrounder Corey Anderson is returning home ahead of the tour to England in May to nurse a finger injury.
The Indians, who are coached by Australian legend Ricky Ponting and have Shane Bond as bowling coach, sent out an SOS to Munro who has flown to Wellington to try to secure a visa. A best-case scenario would see him fly to India on Sunday afternoon.
Munro, 28, was in prolific form for Auckland at the end of the domestic season, albeit wearing whites.
In his last four matches he scored 62, 137, 3, 14, 108, 8 and a blistering 281 against Central Districts in Napier. His innings was scored off just 167 balls and included a staggering, world-record 23 sixes.
The left-hander is a noted T20 exponent, having turned out 14 times for New Zealand, double the amount of one-day internationals he has played.
In 12 innings he averages 21.55 and scores at a strike rate of 130.2. In domestic T20 he averages 27 at a strike rate of 140.
Munro was not named in either the test or one-day squads to tour England recently.
It has been a mixed bag in the IPL so far for the New Zealanders. Brendon McCullum lit up the tournament with a brilliant unbeaten 100 for Chennai, but has fallen away in the last couple of matches. Anderson was in strong form with the bat before getting injured, whilst Kane Williamson has had limited opportunities at Hyderabad Sunrisers.
Munro’s soon-to-be teammate Mitchell McClenaghan has played just one match, while Tim Southee has taken three wickets in four matches for Rajasthan Royals and Trent Boult five in three games for Hyderabad.
Adam Milne has taken no part due to injury, while Matt Henry is waiting for his first opportunity at Chennai.
(article courtesy of nzherald.co.nz)
Martin Guptill capped a stellar season last night by being named the Auckland Cricketer of the Year.
Guptill was at the forefront of the Blackcaps performances at the Cricket World Cup where he was top run scorer for the tournament with 547 runs at 68.37. Along the way he hit two hundreds and one fifty, including that incredible record breaking 237 in the quarterfinal in Wellington, off just 163 balls and with 162 runs in boundaries. Those performances for the Blackcaps saw Guptill also take out the International Player of the Year award last night.
Guptill kick-started his return to the Blackcaps by smashing two hundreds for the Mondiale Aces in the Ford Trophy and then added to that with a century against Bangladesh and that incredible hundred in Wellington.
The evening also saw Colin Munro pick up Batsman of the Year after hitting 899 runs in the Plunket Shield including his record breaking 281 in Napier where he hit 23 sixes against the Stags.
There were repeat winners in the Me’s Bowler of the Year with Michael Bates again picking up that award on the back of claiming 67 wickets for the season, and Sara McGlashan made it two in a row by picking up the Wome’s Batsman of the Year award again after scoring 476 runs in the one day competition.
A full list of winners on the night were:
Auckland Cricketer of the Year – Martin Guptill
International Cricketer of the Year – Martin Guptill
Me’s Bowler of the Year – Michael Bates
Wome’s Bowler of the Year – Regina Lili’i
Me’s Batsman of the Year – Colin Munro
Me’s Bowler of the Year – Michael Bates
Young Player of the Year – Matt Quinn
Representative Coach of the Year – Nick White
Umpire of the Year – Phil Jones
Me’s Club Crickter of the Year – Carl Brungar (North Shore)
Wome’s Club Cricketer of the Year – Sam Curtis (Waitakere)
Carson Cup (Services to Cricket) – Rod Smith
Simmons and Osborne Shield (Club of the Year) – Takapuna
Cornwall completed a dominant week at the National Club Championships by comfortably accounting for St Albans in the final yesterday.
After posting a respectable 235/9 their bowlers ripped through the St Albans top order to ensure that the result was never in doubt.
The other two playoff games were also dimilarly decisive with Albion wrapping up third place with a seven wicket win and Napier Old Boys grabbing their first win of the tournament to lock up fifth spot.
Day Six
Cornwall (Auckland) 235/9 (B Chemaly 57) DEFEATED St Albans (Canterbury) 137 (D Johnston 41; T Nethula 3-21) BY 98 runs.
Cornwall won the toss and elected to bat first as they had done solidly all tournament long. They hit a bit of a speedbump early on when Teja Nidamanuru hit one straight up in the air in the first over. Many of the Cornwall boys got good starts but all got out around the 30 run mark. Once again it was Cornwall’s top batsman of the tournament Brad Chemaly who anchored the innings with a composed 57 that allowed Cornwall to reach 235/9.
Cornwall’s bowling attack came out blazing with Matt Quinn and Shastryn Nair both striking twice in the first ten overs to leave St Albans struggling at 19/4. Benjamin Langrope and James Bevin tried to put St Albans on track to win but great bowling from Sam Anderson and Teja Nidamanuru slowed the run rate and eventually got both men. Daniel Johnston and Matt Holstein got a good partnership going but when Michael Guptill-Bunce threw Taren Nethula the ball, he bowled an incredible spell to clean up the tail and seal a tournament win for Cornwall.
Greerton (Northern Districts) 205 (C Neal 49, C Wiliams 40; J Medlin 3-32) LOST TO Albion (Otago) 206/3 (J Harper 63*, M Somerville 46*, T Cumberland 42; M Jarvis 3-40) by 7 wickets.
Greerton came out looking to pile on the runs early as they chased the third place spot up for grabs in this match. They did’t get off to a great start losing an opener in the third over, but Cam Neal and Kent Hodder formed a partnership to get them back on track to a defendable total. However after Neal fell there was a minor collapse and Greerton found themselves at 142/7. The tail still had some fight left in it and helped Greerton push through to a defendable 205.
Greerton struggled to take wickets against a determined Albion side as they cruised to 78/1 with a strong opening partnership. Even with the quick loss of three wickets it allowed Jack Harper (63 off 70) and Mark Somerville (46 off 52) to step up and bring Albion home and secure third spot.
Onslow (Wellington) 115 (A Fletcher 35; A Prasad 7-31) LOST TO Napier Old Boys (Central Districts) 118/1 (M Sinclair 55*, J Singh 33) by nine wickets.
Napier Old Boys started the day as the only team without a win to its name in the competition and knew that Onslow was definitely a team they could beat. Losing the toss again, Napier immediately made an impact removing Ben Shields for 9. Captain Matthew Sinclair then threw the ball to Anup Prasad who had showed some glimpses of class at this tournament and he didn’t disappoint, bringing up best figures by anyone at the Club Champs this year 7-31. Prasad’s efforts ripped apart Onslow’s batting unit, eventually all out for 115.
Napier looked the best they have all tournament in their run chase only losing the one wicket on the way to easily chasing down Onslow’s total of 115. Matt Sinclair continued his late tournament form top scoring for his side with 55* to ensure Napier didn’t leave the tournament winless.
Overall finish
1st Cornwall
2nd St Albans
3rd Albion
4th Greerton
5th Napier Old Boys
6th Onslow
Day Five
Albion (Otago) 231/8 (T Cumberland 43, M McCall 34, F Page 33, T Ford 30; B Quinn 3-47) DEFEATED Napier Old Boys – Marist (Central Districts) 126 (D Drepaul 34, D Scott 31) BY 77 runs.
Albion went into this game with a chance of still playing Cornwall in the final tomorrow. Winning the toss and electing to bat, opening batsman Taylor Cumberland and Matt McCall got off to a good start for Albion as they put on 82 for the first wicket. The middle order continued to contribution with Felix Page and Captain Tim Ford chipping in 30s to get Albion to 231/8.
Napier haven’t had the greatest luck with the bat so far this tournament and it wasn’t looking much better early on as they lost three wickets very quickly at the start of their innings. Damien Scott and Matthew Sinclair looked to dig in and launch an assault on Albion’s total but their powerful bowling attack was two good with several players chipping in with wickets to seal the 77 run win.
Cornwall (Auckland) 318/6 (H Blackwell 111, B Chemaly 68, S Marra 55, T Nidamanuru 43; M McEwan 3-67) DEFEATED Onslow (Wellington) 123 (J Bannatyne 46 ; F Klaassen 4-23) by 195 runs.
Having already qualified for the final Cornwall took the luxuary of resting Captain Michael Guptill-Bunce for their clash with Onslow. Henry Blackwell took Guptill-Bunce’s spot and made the most of his opportunity, powering to his maiden Premier century. Cornwall also had good contributions from Brad Chemaly (68 off 47), Scott Marra (55 off 32) and Teja Nidamanuru (43 off 36) to finish at a very strong 318/6.
Onslow immediately found themselves in trouble losing both openers in the first five overs. It was a change for Cornwall as the first 6 wickets they took came off good pace bowling, whereas the majority of their tournament wickets have come from spin. This sunk Onslow as they were struggling at 45/6 in the 12th over. Freddie Klaassen (4-23) was the pick of the bowlers for Cornwall as they dismantled Onslow for 123 to reach the final as the only unbeaten team and will face St Albans in the big game today.
Greerton (Northern Districts) 220 (B Hampton 69, T MacRury 46, C Williams 37 ; J Bevin 3-36, G Earl 3-27) LOST TO St Albans (Canterbury) 221/8 (W Southby 79, N Roberts 45, D Johnston 35 ; B Hampton 6-39) by two wickets.
When Greerton won the toss they were always going to bat first against St Albans on the smaller number three pitch. Greerton got off to a solid start as well with Tom MacRury and Charles Williams leading the way with a 69 run opening stand. Unfortunately for Greerton after both openers were dismissed only Brett Hampton (69 off 59) was able to add a decent contribution as St Albans cleaned them out for 220.
Greerton could smell an upset in the early stages of St Albans innings, great bowling by Brett Hampton had them struggling at 44/5. It took good efforts from William Southby (79 off 105) and Nathan Roberts (45 off 60) to put St Albans back on track and even after a bit of a wobbly finish they managed to just get across the line to win by two wickets and set up a rematch with Cornwall in the final tomorrow.
Points Table
1st – Cornwall 15
2nd – St Albans 12
3rd – Albion 9
4th –Greerton 6
5th – Onslow 3
6th – Napier Old Boys Marist 0
Finals Day Fixtures
Final Cornwall v St Albans
3 v 4 Playoff Albion v Greerton
5 v 6 Playoff Onslow v Napier Old Boys Marist
Day Four
Albion (Otago) 253/8 (J Harper 72, T Cumberland 41, D Duke 40, M McCall 34 ; D Spencer 6-52) DEFEATED Greerton (Northern Districts) 126 (T Marsh 3-29, J Medlin 3-24) by 127 runs.
Greerton won the toss and sent Albion into bat out on the number one at Cornwall Park. Albion’s batting lineup hadn’t really fired during the tournament so were well overdue for an allround performance. Even with top run scorer Roald Badenhorst being rested, it didn’t stop Albion putting in a good batting effort as there were solid contributions made by four of the top five as they pushed their way to 253/8, led by a top score of 72 by Jack Harper. Credit also needs to be given to Dan Spencer who grabbed his second six wicket bag for the tournament for Greerton and now leads the wicket takers on 17 scalps.
Greerton’s start was not helped by a quick flurry of wickets, being 5 down after 12 overs for just 47. Yesterday’s saviors for Greerton Richard Earl and Tommy Clout found themselves in the same position for the second game in a row trying to bring their side back from 5 down. Clever bowling by Jeremy Medlin playing his first game of the tournament was Albion’s saviour as he knocked out the Greerton middle order claiming 3-24, to help dismiss them for 126.
Cornwall (Auckland) 249/9 (B Chemaly 103*; C Gibbens 3-41, N Roberts 3-43) DEFEATED St Albans (Canterbury) 89 (T Nidamanuru 3-3) by 160 runs
Cornwall didn’t get off to the best of starts against St Albans as they lost their two top performers from yesterday Teja Nidamanuru and Michael Guptill-Bunce in the first three overs. Wickets continued to fall frequently for Cornwall and they needed someone to step up and save their innings. That man today was Brad Chemaly, whose knock of 103 off 100 balls was enough to push Cornwall to 249/9 off their 50 overs.
Cornwall made the perfect start to their innings grabbing four wickets in the first 15 overs to pile on the pressure as St Albans struggled to 42-4. There was hope as James O’Gorman came in to revive the innings but thanks to Cornwall’s incredible spin bowling attack, they were far too powerful rolling St Albans for 89. Teja Nidamanuru was the top bowling performer with 3-3.
Onslow (Welington) 337 (A Fletcher 146, A Noema-Barnett 56 ; B Quinn 3-75) DEFEATED Napier Old Boys Marist (Central Districts) 312/9 (M Sinclair 97, J Singh 71, D Drepaul 62, B Quinn 42; J Bannatyne 5-69) by 16 runs (D/L)
Onslow and Napier Old Boys Marist were both winless at the start of days play and it was Onslow who came out blazing looking to rectify that. Having looked impressive during the tournament already making several good starts, it was Andrew Fletcher who led the way for Onslow scoring 146 off 125 to help them post 337 – the third time that Napier have had to chase 300 at the Champs.
Napier got off to a great start as Jamie Singh and Matthew Sinclair got the ball rolling with a 93 run partnership. Even after Singh departed Sinclair continued to score getting to 97 off 99 where he was run out with Napier Old Boys 222/4. With the game going down to the wire Napier didn’t give up and fought into the position of needing 30 off the last 2.4 overs when rain interrupted and paused play. With one over shaved off the total and the total revised to 329 Onslow held their nerve to close out the game, James Bannatyne grabbing a hattrick to win by 16 runs.
Points Table
Cornwall 12
St Albans 9
Albion 6
Greerton 6
Onslow 3
Napier Old Boys Marist 0
Day Three
Onslow (Wellington) 174 (B Shields 47, A Fletcher 44; M Holstein 3-19) LOST TO St Albans (Canterbury) 175/5 (J O’Gorman 75, D Johnston 35*) by five wickets.
After being rolled for 75 in yesterday’s game, St Albans looked to put the pressure of batting first back on Onslow, winning the toss and electing to field. A solid opening partnership of 71 between Onslow’s Andrew Fletcher and Ben Shields was just the start they needed as they looked to put on a defendable total. Once again a lack of depth in the batting lineup was exposed for Onslow as they failed to convert starts, losing regular wickets to finish 174 all out.
Early Pressure was applied by Onslow as they snared two wickets in the first 10 overs of St Albans innings. Only chasing 174, James Richards and James O’Gorman dug in their heels and prevented St Albans from losing any further wickets in the early stages. The captain O’Gorman (75 off 105) went on to play a crucial part of bringing the game home forming a partnership with Daniel Johnston (35 off 25) to seal St Albans third win by 5 wickets.
Napier Old Boys Marist (Central Districts) 165 (A Prasad 62; C Thomas 3-36) LOST TO Greerton (Northern Districts) 168/6 (R Earl 44*, T Clout 38) by four wickets
Looking to chalk up their first win of the National Club Champs, Napier Old Boys got a good start winning the toss and electing to bat. Once again the opening partnership for Napier got some runs on the board early but in an almost identical situation to yesterday’s game the loss of the first wicket for Old Boys signaled a collapse falling from 40/1 to 75/7. Anup Prasad offered some fight to help push Napier to a defendable total of 165.
Tom MacRury and Charles Williams got off to a solid start for Greerton posting 31 in their opening stand, but after MacRury departed Greerton’s top order collapsed struggling at 72/5 and looking like more could fall. Middle order batsmen Tommy Clout and Richard Earl then stepped in and anchored Greerton’s innings to successfully chase down the 165 Napier set with four wickets to spare. Napier Old Boys Marist will now look to tomorrow for their first win.
Albion (Otago) 227 (R Badenhorst 45, N Beard 36, T Cumberland 31; T Nidamanuru 3-45) LOST TO Cornwall (Auckland) 229/1 (M Guptill-Bunce 102*, T Nidamanuru 70, A Sharma 41*) by nine wickets.
Cornwall won the toss for the third game in a row at the National Champs and decided to bowl against Albion. Roald Badenhorst (45 off 49) again got Albion off to a great start bringing up his third score over 40 and helping his side to get to 102/4 at the 20 over mark. Cornwall kept on persevering against a good Albion side and when spinners Swapnil Karnik and Teja Nidamanuru both made breakthroughs, it sparked a lower order collapse for Albion who ended all out for 227.
Cornwall got to bat three overs before lunch and certainly set the tone for the rest of their innings, hitting the break at 32/0. After Lunch Teja Nidamanuru and Michael Guptill-Bunce continued to bat unbelievably forging a 144 run opening stand before Nidamanuru fell for 70. This didn’t slow down Guptill-Bunce as he raced to 102* off 56 balls including 13 fours and 6 sixes, bringing up his milestone with a four which also won the game. Cornwall chasing down 228 in 22 overs to cap an impressive win.
Points Table
Cornwall 9
St Albans 9
Greerton 6
Albion 3
Onslow 0
Napier Old Boys Marist 0
Day Two
Cornwall (Auckland) 305/6 (A Sharma 107, S Andersen 61, J Cassidy 33*) DEFEATED Napier Old Boys Marist (Central Districts) 107 (S Kartik 4-27, B Chemaly 3-7) by 198 runs.
Cornwall again won the toss and elected to bat first this morning. Napier who had a heavy loss on day one got off to the perfect start when Anup Prasad ripped Teja Nidamanuru’s off stump out of the ground with the first ball of the innings. This brought Avinash Sharma to the crease who batted through 46 overs and scored a composed century along the way. He got good support from Sam Andersen in the middle of the innings as they were able to keep the scoreboard ticking over to push to a great score of 305/6.
Napier got away to a solid start with their opening partnership posting 34 runs for the first wicket. It took a great piece of play by Cornwall’s Shastryn Nair to swing momentum Cornwalls way as he reacted quickly to pluck a ball out of the air to remove Ravi Singh on 24 caught and bowled. From there wickets continued to fall for Napier Old Boys Marist as no one could manage to get over 30. Great spin bowling by Swapnil Kartik and Brad Chemaly was the key to Cornwall’s win.
St Albans (Canterbury) 151 (T Marsh 4-36, J Harper 3-26) DEFEATED Albion (Otago) 136 (R Badenhorst 44; M Holstein 5-20, G Earl 3-13) by 15 runs.
St Albans were the biggest winners on day one and came out looking to pile on the runs against a very strong Albion side. St Albans struggled to convert starts into big scores as opening bowlers Taylor Marsh and Roald Badenhorst put on some early pressure. Albion in the end picked up where they left off yesterday with the ball, bowling St Albans out for 151. Great bowling performances by Taylor Marsh (4-36) and Jack Harper (3-26) the key for Albion.
Albion got off to a flying start with Roald Badenhorst(44 off 34) playing some great shots and getting Albion through to 60/1 at lunch. Momentum took a sharp turn in favor of St Albans after Badenhorst was dismissed, Albion then collapsed going from 72/3 to 125/7. Needing only 16 runs to win with three wickets in hand, it was St Albans who came out on top with Matt Holstein claiming a hat-trick, ripping apart the tail to get St Albans their second win of the tournament
Onslow (Wellington) 75 (S Wineti 3-14 D Spencer 3-27) LOST TO Greerton 76/1 (C Williams, T MacRury 32) by nine wickets.
Onslow came out looking to put runs on the board as they won the toss and elected to bat first. The decision backfired on the boys from Wellington as Greerton’s opening bowlers Brett Hampton and Campbell Thomas had Onslow struggling at 23/4 after 8 overs. Needing to dig in and rebuild, Sam Keegan and Matt McEwan showed some fighting spirit for Onslow but fell victim to Greerton captain Shane Wineti and top wicket taker Daniel Spencer who grabbed three scalps each on their way to knocking Onslow over for 75.
It was obvious Greerton wanted to wrap things up before lunch as they didn’t hold back chasing down Onslow’s total in just over ten overs. Only losing one man in the nine wicket win capped off a powerful display by Greerton that puts them right back in the hunt for the championship.
Points Table
1st – Cornwall 6
2nd – St Albans 6
3rd – Greerton 3
4th – Albion 3
5th – Onslow 0
6th – Napier Old Boys Marist 0
Day One
Cornwall (Auckland) 272 (T Wilson 71, B Chemaly 67, T Nidamanuru 38, M Guptill-Bunce 34; D Spencer 6-40) DEFEATED Greerton (Northern Districts) 200 (B Hampton104, T MacRury 37; T Nidamanuru 4-33) by 72 runs.
Winning the toss was a great start to Cornwall’s return to the Club Champs after a seven year absence with Captain Martin Guptill-Bunce deciding to bat first. The decision looked to have been the wrong one early on as Cornwall slumped to 117/6 in the 28th over. Up stepped Brad Chemaly (67 off 80) and Tim Wilson (71 off 59) to stabilize Cornwall’s innings and help them push to a strong score of 272.
Cornwall struck early on with the ball leaving Greerton well behind the run rate at 2-30 after 10 overs. The early wickets only brought Brett Hampton to the crease where he scored the fastest century of the day (104 off 69). His dismissal sparked a lower order collapse with the final four wickets falling for 14 runs to leave them 200 all out and giving Cornwall a 72 run win.
Albion (Otago) 255 (R Badenhorst 107, M Sommerville 46*; H Kyne 4-44) DEFEATED Onslow (Wellington) 146 (S O’Connor 36, C Larsen 30; R Badenhorst 3-30, D Ingham 3-4) by 109 runs.
Albion’s innings got off to a strong start in their opening match at the National Club Champs after being sent in to bat. Roald Badenhorst wasted no time building a 104 run opening stand with fellow opening batsman Matt McCall. Even after McCall’s dismissal Badenhorst continued to fire bringing up the first century of the tournament off just 95 balls. Albion’s innings then began to stall as Badenhorst fell on 107, with regular wickets falling Albion were able to fight through to 255 recovering from being 168/5 at one stage.
Onslow had the smallest chase of all the teams on day one but didn’t do themselves any favours losing a wicket in the second over and by the 20th over they were struggling at 61/7. It was a great bowling display by first innings hero Roald Badenhorst (3-30) and Daniel Ingham (3-4), as they kept taking wickets at frequent intervals to ensure they would end up winners on day one, eventually bowling Onslow out for 146.
St Albans (Canterbury) 360/5 (J Bevin 133, G Earl 74, B Langrope 69 J Richards 32) DEFEATED Napier Old Boys- Marist (Central Districts) 138 (B Quinn 37, A Prasad 32; D Armitt 4-49, N Roberts 3-21) by 222 runs.
Losing a wicket in the first over didn’t prove to be too much of a loss for St Albans as they powered to a mammoth 360/5 off their fifty overs. Led early on by George Earl (74 off 82), St Albans managed to find early momentum and put pressure on Napier Old Boys. Just as the game began to lean towards an Old Boys take over, up stepped James Bevin who blasted 133 off 85 balls including 19 fours and 5 sixes to help his side home strongly.
St Albans proved to be just as destructive with the ball, taking regular wickets and not allowing Napier Old Boys any space at the crease. At one stage after just 11 overs, Napier Old Boys were struggling at 37/6 thanks to great opening bowling by Nathan Roberts and Clem Gibbens. Brendan Quinn and Anup Prasad looked to steady the ship but David Armitt(4-49) had different ideas cleaning up the lower order.
Points Table
St Albans 3
Albion 3
Cornwall 3
Greerton 0
Onslow 0
Napier Old Boys Marist 0
DAY FOUR
The outright was close and the Mondiale Auckland Aces openers were determined to nail it on their own as the final day of the 2014/15 domestic cricket season dawned over Colin Maiden Park.
Resuming at 91/0, Michael Guptill-Bunce and Jeet Raval quickly began lashing the boundary, and had summoned an unbroken 150 stand off 188 balls inside the first 45 minutes of play.
At 160/0, now thoughts turned to whether 25-year-old Guptill-Bunce, playing only his sixth match at this level, could cap the Aces’ day with a maiden first-class century. The Aces required a further 26 runs to win as he moved for the first time into the 90s, having just exceeded the career best 88 he had posted in the first innings with a confident four off Rhys Phillips.
But cricket always seems to have one last twist in store. In his next over, Phillips finally broke the opening partnership — and it was the gutted Guptill-Bunce who was gone, caught behind for a 99-ball 91.
The loss may have shocked Jeet Raval just long enough to let the Volts back in for a double whammy, Raval stumped by de Boorder in the very next over, off Josh Finnie. Raval had completed twin half-centuries in the match and now only a further 27 runs were required for victory, so it was hardly chastening for the hosts — but suddenly they were three down as Finnie struck again in his next over, Carl Cachopa sent back caught for just the one ru’s addition.
Now Robbie O’Donnell and Anaru Kitchen were in charge of bringing it home. O’Donnell tapped a boundary off Phillips to get the run chase chugging again, but he was gone just as smartly too, bowled by Finnie: the Aces 166/4 at drinks, 21 runs still to get.
Four wickets having crashed in the space of six overs, teenager Finnie suddenly had 3-7. Now it was allrounder Donovan Grobbelaar’s chance to do the honours with Kitchen. All it took was another five overs before he clipped a boundary off Phillips to win the game. The Volts had been unable to give their retiring skipper Aaron Redmond the send-off they had hoped for, the Aces taking a six-wicket win to end the season.
DAY THREE
When Volts skipper Aaron Redmond wrapped his mitt around the catch that dismissed Tarun Nethula for no addition to his overnight score of 31, it meant much more than a wicket. The Volts were the last team in the competition in the position of still needing bonus points to keep their hopes alive, and Jacob Duffy’s early breakthrough had just picked up the vital point for the seventh wicket inside the 110 overs cut-off.
It put the Volts on 98 points, level with the Knights: now their hopes remained alive. One more bowling point and the Knights, at least, were out of their calculations.
The Mondiale Auckland Aces had already picked up a batting point for reaching 250 before Nethula’s fall, but for the hosts at Colin Maiden (now on 102 points), the concern had shifted to what was going on in Mount Maunganui. Two early second innings wickets there had got Canterbury off to a good start on day three. Canterbury were sitting on 110 points: an outright was all they required, but if the Knights got up, at this stage the Aces, and the Volts, were still in it. The talk at every venue was all about how exciting and tense it was: two days left in the season, four teams still on the edge of their seats!
Anaru Kitche’s delayed appearance in the order meant the Aces still had plenty of batting. By drinks, he and captain Michael Bates (whose 25 included a six off Craig Smith) had cracked on to an unbroken 60-run stand for the eighth wicket, Kitchen closing in on a half-ton. The Volts’ lead had been sliced to 72.
Drinks took a wicket, however, Bates dismissed next over by Smith who had him caught behind on 30. It was the end of the 106th over: the Volts were still on course for a fourth bonus point to mathematically edge them over the Knights.
Kitche’s rip-roaring 64 off 49 balls came to an end when top order destroyer Rhys Phillips came back for his third, ending the Aces’ innings just 43 runs shy of the Volts’ tally. The Volts had maximum bowling points: one mission accomplished. But while they had been pinning that down, the Knights had managed to lose all 10 wickets in a session to put Canterbury in a strong position at the Mount. Surely it was too late for both the Volts and Aces, now, as Canterbury set off on a tame chase?
Back at Colin Maiden Oval, everyone present stood and applauded Volts captain Redmond as he walked out to open the batting for one final time. He got them through to the lunch break, after the early loss of Hamish Rutherford who had been caught behind off Matt Quinn. The swansong innings would last almost an hour before Redmond, in the middle session, was himself caught behind on 28 off the well-performed Lockie Ferguson, ending a career that began in the 1999/2000 season and spanned 129 first-class games.
He would not have liked it to have remained the Volts’ highest score of the innings, mind, but it threatened to be so as a further three wickets fell before tea, and two more soon after. Meanwhile, the remote hopes of any Shield glory had gone, Canterbury having sewn up their defence at the Mount.
Derek de Boorder reprised his role as dogged would-be innings rescuer, and would be the last wicket down, caught on 29. Unfortunately for the Volts, that was the top score. Their dig had lasted only 51.2 overs as they folded for 143, setting the Aces a target of 187 and a whole day and a bit in which to get them.
Tarun Nethula had once again been rewarded for his exacting efforts, the leggie picking up Roald Badenhorst and Neil Wagner in successive overs en route to fine figures of 4-24 off 15. Likewise, Lockie Ferguson enjoyed his afternoon, his 4-45 including that last, stubborn wicket of de Boorder, who had held on for more than two hours.
By day’s end, the Aces had put themselves in an even better position to wrap on the final morning, Michael Guptill-Bunce charging to his second half-century in the match, unbeaten on 60 off 57 balls at stumps. The Aces were 91 without loss, needing just 96 further runs to end their summer with an outright.
Day two
The SBS Bank Otago Volts’ tail continued to wag as Ryan Phillips and Jacob Duffy added a further 32 runs before Lockie Ferguson had Duffy caught behind for a gallant 37 off 51 balls. Remarkably, they had broken a Volts record that had stood since the 1946/47 season for the best 10th wicket stand against their opponents.
It was the highest first-class score for the 20-year-old Duffy, but bitterweet as his wicket meant the Volts missed out on a fourth batting bonus point by just 13 runs after the game and aggressive last stand.
The Mondiale Auckland Aces needed 388, now, to better the Volts’ first innings effort, but still the emphasis was on picking up maximum bonus points — the weather now suddenly humid, sweltery and cloudy. Bowling weather for the Volts?
The Aces’ openers had other ideas with Jeet Raval and Michael Guptill-Bunce making a solid start. They had put on 89 for the first wicket, Raval taking a half-century before he was undone by Ryan Phillips who had him caught and bowled on 52 shortly after lunch.
Guptill-Bunce pressed on to his first half-century at first-class level. By tea, he had reached 60, the Aces still trailing by 248 runs but, at only two down, looking well placed to reach at least some of the all-important batting targets for bonus points. By close of play they were just three runs shy of chalking up the first one, but more tenuously positined now at six down.
Guptill-Bunce’s career best innings had ended on 88, caught off Ryan Phillips. Dependable Brad Cachopa found 33 runs before he was trapped leg before by Neil Wagner in the last handful of overs before stumps, Tarun Nethula unbeaten on 31 overnight with the Aces 140 runs in arrears.
(courtesy of blackcaps.co.nz)
BONUS POINTS collected so far:
Mondiale Auckland Aces: 4 bowling points
SBS Bank Otago Volts: 3 batting points, 2 bowling points
Day one
Half centuries by Michael Bracewell and Derek de Boorder carried Otago through to a handy first-day total in their Plunket Shield match against the Mondiale Auckland Aces.
The Otago Volts reached 355 for nine wickets off 97 overs at Auckland’s Colin Maiden Park on Wednesday.
Bracewell and Ryan Duffy put on 56 runs for the third wicket after Auckland removed Otago openers Aaron Redmond and Hamish Rutherford.
Redmond became Auckland bowler Matt Quin’s 50th first-class victim when he holed out for 17.
Duffy rattled on 40 runs, including seven boundaries, before he was out with Otago’s sore at 92 and Josh Finnie followed soon after for just two runs.
But Bracewell, who scored 62, and de Boorder dug in for a determined 69-run fifth wicket stand.
De Boorder stuck around for another 30 overs after Bracewell’s departure to produce a patiently-compiled 78 off 144 balls. He hit 10 fours.
With de Boorder dismissed in the 89th over, Auckland probably expected to quickly claim the last wicket. But Otago’s gritty final pair, Rhys Phillips (16no) and Jacob Duffy (13no) were still there at stumps after an unbroken 31-run 10th wicket stand.
Quinn, Michael Bates and leg break bowler Tarun Nethula all picked up two wickets for Auckland.
(courtesy of stuff.co.nz)
