DAY FOUR
Stumps update: Match drawn. Mondiale Auckland Aces confirmed as 2015/16 season champions with round to spare.
Tea update: Wellington Firebirds 197/2 (Stephen Murdoch 78, Luke Woodcock 67 not out) requiring 318 runs to win.
Lunch update: Wellington Firebirds 68/1 trailing by 447 runs.
After Donovan Grobbelaar (101) had finally found his maiden first-class century that morning, the Aces went on to reach an emphatic 598 all out — a powerful lead of 514 over the Wellington Firebirds, with two and a bit sessions left in the crunch match.
And that's a maiden first-class ton for Donovan Grobbelaar! Well deserved 👏🏼 #PlunketShield pic.twitter.com/LfMF081Fd5
— Auckland Cricket (@aucklandcricket) March 25, 2016
The century to the popular allrounder would prove icing on the cake for the unbeaten Aucklanders.
The Aces hadn’t held the first-class title since the 2008/09 season and will now head to Napier in the final round to try and maintain their remarkable undefeated season.
The side were very nearly able to secure the shield victory with a win, but instead had to be satisfied with a draw that also gave them the championship title.
The day started with some impressive batting, the Aces building the biggest domestic total ever recorded at the Basin Reserve, breaking a record that had stood since the mid 1920s by three runs, with 598.
Grobbelaar's knock eclipsed his previous best of 99. He was able to get to three figures with the support of skipper Michael Bates, who was then able to bat with Lockie Ferguson and Matt Quinn to keep pushing the Aces along. Bates would eventually finish unbeaten on 47.
Find out what winning captain Michael Bates made of the game here:
That left the Firebirds with a mammoth 514 to chase for the victory they needed to keep their Plunket Shield hopes alive.
The home side made an impressive start to their chase through the experienced Luke Woodcock and Michael Papps, the duo combining for an opening stand of 49.
After the loss of Papps, Stephen Murdoch showed his class as he kept things moving with Woodcock.
But after that pair departed, things slowed down for the Wellingtonians and, apart from the ever lively Tom Blundell, there was little resistance offered through the middle.
The steady fall of wickets kept Auckland in view of an outright victory, but some stout late resistance from Anurag Verma kept the Aces striving.
As well as the Plunket Shield victory, the final day also saw Brad Cachopa record eight dismissals for the match, an Auckland record he holds with four other players. It is a mark Brad Cachopa has now reached three times.
DAY THREE
If the first day at the Basin Reserve asked big questions of the batsmen on both sides, the third day saw the batsmen with all the answers; and a day of toil for bowlers. And, the Mondiale Auckland Aces were able to make the absolute most of the conditions to build a big lead over Wellington before light called play.
The day opened with Jeet Raval and Michael Guptill-Bunce resuming things for the Aces at 149/0. Guptill-Bunce went on the attack early in the day and quickly found himself in the 90s.
He moved swiftly to 99, but back-to-back maidens from the Firebirds meant the powerful opener had some nervous moments. Thanks to a nice drive through the covers, the man they call "Fridge" was able to push past the special milestone and reach his second first-class hundred, both of them arriving this summer.
Big over at the Basin a 2nd hundred for Guptill-Bunce & a hundred run lead for the Mondiale Aces #plunketshield ^BM pic.twitter.com/Wg0RcG8wWn
— Auckland Cricket (@aucklandcricket) March 24, 2016
Guptill-Bunce has had his troubles around the 100 milestone before, but never seemed to look back once he had broken through. He pushed the scoring rate along and, shortly after he’d gone past 100, he and Jeet Raval went to a 200-run opening stand.
The pair then broke a record that had stood since the 1924/25 season as they reached a 201-run opening stand against Wellington.
Not long after, though, Raval came undone to the tireless Brent Arnel, when he was on 90.
The next spell was a fruitful one for Wellington as they restricted Auckland through the middle, able to claim the wickets not only of Raval, but Robbie O’Donnell, Guptill-Bunce and Brad Cachopa in relatively quick succession.
O’Donnell and Cachopa had both got starts, but were not able to hang on with Guptill-Bunce, who was churning out runs and building Auckland’s lead.
The run of wickets left the Aces in a tough spot, and with two fresh batsmen in Colin de Grandhomme and Mark Chapman.
Colin de Grandhomme
The pair was able to offer a steadying hand in a time of real need for their team, however. In the process, de Grandhomme went past 4000 first-class runs.
The big man wasn’t able to get on from his start and was done for 33 with a pitched-up Anurag Verma delivery.
Chapman and Donovan Grobbelaar were then able to form a very useful partnership to build further for the Aces. The impressive Chapman was able to bring up his maiden half-century for the Aces in first-class cricket and kept pushing out the lead.
However, after looking like he was pushing things well, he fell victim to Arnel.
After the Firebirds quickly snapped up the wicket of Tarun Nethula, it was up to Grobbelaar and Michael Bates to take their side to the close, the experienced duo showing their worth with bat in hand, able to work things around and add runs to the Auckland lead.
The pair was able to take the lead past 450 before light eventually called time on play. Grobbelaar was closing on 89 and Bates 12 for an impressive 459-run lead. The lead means the final day shapes as an exciting contest as the Aces seek a win to confirm the Plunket Shield.
DAY TWO
First innings batting bonus points, Aces: 0 (completed), Firebirds 1 (completed).
First innings bowling bonus points: Firebirds 4 (completed), Aces 4 (completed).
After a rain-delayed start, the Wellington Firebirds made it to lunch at 197/8 (Michael Pollard 68; Lockie Ferguson 3-21), leading by 45 runs.
Against the ropes after the loss of the mercurial Pollard, who had painted some devastating pull shots around the Basin in his 10 boundaries, the tail nevertheless rallied to the tune of 50-odd runs before the Firebirds were finally all out for 236, for a first innings lead of 84.
Lockie Ferguson had wrapped it up with a career best five-wicket bag (5-37), assisted by wicketkeeper Brad Cachopa who held no fewer than six catches — five of them off Ferguson.
Record-breaker: Brad Cachopa
Six takes behind the stumps equalled the Auckland record (which Cachopa now shares with Gareth Hopkins, who did it twice, and Reece Young, who had also achieved the mark at the Basin Reserve).
Cachopa's glovework also saw him clinch an impressive Auckland record of 40 catches behind the stumps in one season, and counting.
Power of runs: Michael Guptill-Bunce
The last session saw the Aces manoeuvre their way into a good position, Michael Guptill-Bunce raising his bat for his half century shortly before opening partner Jeet Raval smote a boundary to push the Aces into the lead.
The potent pair simply kept calm and carried on to post the Aces' 100 without loss, patiently picking off the four-balls and getting under the Firebirds' skin.
Raval's ninth boundary, a straight drive off Brent Arnel, brought up his own half century. The gauntlet was down. By stumps, they were just one run away from a 150-stand for the first wicket, a 65-run lead now in hand.
DAY ONE
Stumps score: Wellington Firebirds 130/4 (Scott Borthwick 42, Michael Pollard 42 not out) trail by 22 runs in the first innings at the Basin Reserve, 23 March 2016. Earlier: Mondiale Auckland Aces 152 all out in 34 overs (Donovan Grobbelaar 25; Brent Arnel 5-51, Iain McPeake career best 3-40)
First innings batting bonus points, Aces: 0 (completed), Firebirds 0 (so far)
First innings bowling bonus points: Firebirds 4 (completed), Aces 1 (so far)
Late summer and the endless sweltering nights of 2015/16 have been displaced by licks of southerlies and lashings of wet as the days get shorter. Decks are green across the country, and batsmen are waking up nervous.
Round nine began at the Basin Reserve, Hagley Oval and University Oval: all in the cooler half of the country and, in the previous round at Uni Oval and Hagley, we had already seen how lively it had played early doors.
Now, on a crisp Basin morning, Michael Bates and Michael Papps faced off at the toss, in a match that will determine their respective team’s shots at holding aloft the magnificent Plunket Shield.
Bates saw a pitch on which he would dearly love to bowl first, with his left-arm seamers in the unbeaten Mondiale Auckland Aces attack; while Papps saw a green deck that any opening batsman would’ve wanted to stay well away from.
Brad Cachopa's bottom lip hits the deck
Unluckily for the Aces, it was Papps who got the toss of the coin and happily sent his visitors in.
Too good: Brent Arnel sniffed a five-for
It paid quick dividends. The ball was swinging. The home side made the most of the conditions to turf out the Aces just after lunch for 152.
It would have been less had it not been for some late wagging by the lower half of the Aces’ order, or if perhaps Scott Borthwick had not taken an absolute stinger in the slips to dismiss a stunned Jeet Raval.
Senior seamer Brent Arnel has been leading attacks long enough to know exactly how to maximise his efforts in such conditions, and added his 14th five-wicket bag in first-class cricket (5-51), which was his fifth for the Firebirds after his earlier career with the Knights.
It was Arnel who wrapped it up, but getting the ball rolling — verving — skidding — swinging — was Iain McPeake who, in just his third Plunket Shield match, quickly picked up two premium wickets in openers Michael Guptill-Bunce and Jeet Raval, before Anurag Verma swooped in for Robbie O’Donnell.
Robbie O'Donnell hears the fatal clunk of ball hitting poles
McPeake would finish with his best figures yet, just, of 3-40.
The Aces had simply not been able to get going past small starts on the tricky surface.
Mark Chapman tried to connect
Every player from one to 11 was able to get underway, but none — apart from dogged backstop Donovan Grobbelaar (25) — was able to make any kind of substantial contribution.
Michael Guptill-Bunce and Jeet Raval did look to have gotten through a very tight opening period to start the scoring process before McPeake’s continual probing saw them fall.
Strength to strength: Iain McPeake shone again
Of course what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander and before long it was the Firebirds’ top order that had to step out on a Basin pitch that was offering bowlers so much to work with.
"Ufff": Luke Woodcock defends
That extra juice saw the Wellington top order suffer similar struggles: of the top three batsmen, none could muster a score of more than 12.
Dangerous Lockie Ferguson
Form bowlers Lockie Ferguson and Colin de Grandhomme relished the conditions, however Scott Borthwick and Michael Pollard showed if you could just hang in there, runs would come on a Basin surface that, in all fairness, has been more renowned for run-scoring than wicket-taking in recent times.
The pair shaped a handy partnership that saw the locals press past 100 and eat into the Aces’ slim lead.
Borthwick’s solid form made him the big wicket, and he was dismissed on 42 this time by Grobbelaar.
It was then up to Pollard and Tom Blundell to try and take their side closer to the Aces’ first innings peg mark. The pair looked to be doing just that — until bad light saw played called early, the Firebirds 130/4 and 22 runs behind.
Both batsmen had been able to get good starts with Pollard 42 not out and Blundell 23 not out. The Aces will need to make an early breakthrough when play starts again and, with rain looming in the week’s forecast, both sides will be anxious to get cracking, eager for maximum points from the match.
The next three days shape as very exciting spectacles.
Additional reporting: Auckland Cricket
