DAY FOUR
Result, last session: SKYCITY Northern Knights won by 115 runs. Devon Hotel Central Stags 382 (Tom Bruce career best 166 not out, Bevan Small career best 76; Anton Devcich 4-141, Joe Walker career best 4-87)
Tea update: Devon Hotel Central Stags 319/6 (Tom Bruce 144 not out, Bevan Small 52 not out, maiden first-class half century) require 179 runs to win at Seddon Park, Hamilton.
Lunch update: Devon Hotel Central Stags 171/5 (Tom Bruce 55 not out; Anton Devcich 3-83) require 327 runs to win at Seddon Park, Hamilton.
@ndcaknights
A brilliant innings from Tom Bruce was not enough as an impressive Devon Hotel Central Stags rearguard fell short on the final day against the SKYCITY Northern Knights.
Chasing a record total of 498 to win, the Stags had resumed the day at 64/3, with Bruce on three.
Six hours later, Bruce was still there on 166 — but left stranded at the non-striker's end as the Knights wrapped up the game to celebrate a 115-run victory.
The three-digit winning margin will look resounding in the record books, but will not do Central justice for what had been a tenacious effort on day four.
It took an hour for the Knights to make a breakthrough, Will Young battling through 75 balls before being trapped lbw by young spinner Joe Walker.
Dane Cleaver followed soon after and, although Doug Bracewell provided some resistance, his dismissal further reduced the Stags to 176/6, still a big 322 runs away from victory.
An early afternoon finish looked a formality, but Bruce – who had by then brought up his 50 – found a partner in Bevan Small.
Better known as a bowler: the Stags' Bevan Small. Photosport
On paper, Small hardly seemed like a number eight batsman – averaging 11.4, with a high score of 29. However, he batted like a true allrounder as the pair frustrated the hosts for several hours.
Small was at the crease for 162 minutes, hitting 10 fours in his 76, and adding 177 for the seventh wicket with Bruce.
With a remarkable record run chase looming, it was 19-year-old debutant Zak Gibson who made the key breakthrough by evoking a rash shot from Small, who was caught at midwicket.
All the while, Bruce kept accruing milestones – first a century, then his highest first-class score, followed by raising his bat once more to celebrate 150, which he fittingly brought up with a boundary.
However, Walker made sure there would be no more record breaking. He took two wickets in two balls as Ajaz Patel and a scoreless Blair Tickner trudged off the park.
Walker would end with career-best figures of 4-79, while Anton Devcich took 4-141 to end with his own career-best match analysis of eight wickets in all – the pair filling in admirably for BLACKCAPS spin duo Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner.
Devcich was the man to finally finish proceedings by dismissing debutant Liam Dudding, leaving Bruce unbeaten, yet defeated.
DAY THREE
Stumps score: Devon Hotel Central Stags 64/3 (Greg Hay 37), trailing by 434 runs. SKYCITY Northern Knights declared at 332/7 to set a chase of 498.
Tea update: SKYCITY Northern Knights 221/4 (Dean Brownlie 65, BJ Watling 31, Bharat Popli 38 not out), a lead of 386 runs.
Lunch update: SKYCITY Northern Knights 99/1 in second innings, a lead of 264 (Daniel Flynn 47, Dean Brownlie 46 not out). Earlier: Devon Hotel Central Stags 293 all out, Anton Devcich career-best 4-43 at Seddon Park, Hamilton.
The Devon Hotel Central Stags require a record total tomorrow to claim victory against a dominant SKYCITY Northern Knights outfit in their Plunket Shield clash at Seddon Park.
The Stags have been set 498 to win – a total which would beat Wellington's 475 as the highest successful fourth innings chase in Plunket Shield history.
However, that prospect looks unlikely with the visitors reduced to 64/3 at stumps, requiring a further 434 to reach the record books.
Their mammoth deficit came about after Northern continued their strong form in the contest this morning.
A fourth wicket to Anton Devcich early in the day saw Central dismissed short of the follow-on mark, but Knights skipper Daniel Flynn continued his aggressive approach by deciding to bat again.
The gamble was made in search of outright points, and it paid off with some remarkable hitting resulting in the hosts posting 332/7 in just 60 overs.
Their attacking endeavour was shown from the outset as Flynn (47) and Dean Brownlie (65) smoked 17 boundaries between them, while BJ Watling added 31 to provide a stable top-order platform.
Run machine Bharat Popli increased his lead at the top of the Plunket Shield run-scoring ladder with a composed 66 – edging him to within a half-century of 1000 runs in the Shield season.
The star turn was Daryl Mitchell, however.
The middle-order batsman has been in dashing form in 2016, and he showcased his ability to play aggressive shots again, flaying an astonishing 72 from 49 balls.
That knock consisted of seven fours and three sixes as Mitchell displayed his glorious straight-hitting skills, including a remarkable 27 coming off one Blair Tickner over.
When he departed, the Knights declared with their hefty lead – only spinner Ajaz Patel (4-123) finding significant success with the ball.
Tasked with their daunting chase of 498, the Stags again lost opener Dean Robinson early, before Greg Hay (37) and Mitch Renwick (5) became Devcich's fifth and sixth victims of the match – the best bowling analysis of his career.
With Will Young and Tom Bruce at the crease and Dane Cleaver and Doug Bracewell still to come, the Stags have the firepower and resilience to give the Knights a scare, but it will take a performance of extraordinary skill for the Stags to get out of jail.
DAY TWO
Stumps score: Devon Hotel Central Stags 269/9 (Mitch Renwick 69, Will Young 34, Tom Bruce 32, Doug Bracewell 31; Anton Devcich 3-38, Zak Gibson maiden first-class wicket) trailing in the first innings by 189. Earlier: SKYCITY Northern Knights 458/6 declared (Bharat Popli career best 172, Daryl Mitchell 55, Tim Seifert 45 not out; Liam Dudding 3-119 on debut) at Seddon Park, Hamilton
The SKYCITY Northern Knights are well on top after two days of their Plunket Shield clash with the Devon Hotel Central Stags at Seddon Park.
Resuming overnight at 330/4, Northern declared their first innings at 458/6, before a strong final session's bowling reduced the Stags to 269/9 – still 39 runs away from avoiding the follow-on.
Stags tailenders Ajaz Patel and Liam Dudding will be tasked with that battle in the morning after part-timers Anton Devcich and Daryl Mitchell put in a sterling effort with the ball to steer the Knights into a commanding position.
Their efforts followed a continued onslaught in the morning by Northern’s batsmen, with Bharat Popli continuing on his merry way – his highest first-class innings ending at 172 and pushing him to 876 runs for the Plunket Shield campaign.
His middle order compadres also continued their aggressive approach of late, with the in-form Mitchell hitting eight boundaries in his 55, while keeper Tim Seifert blasted an unbeaten 45 off 28 balls, finding the rope on nine occasions.
That was enough for a haul of bonus points and a declaration, with debutant Dudding ending with three first innings wickets and Doug Bracewell taking 2-27 from 14 overs on his return from injury.
The start of Central’s innings had a similar look to Northern’s, also finding themselves at 37/2.
The Stags had got through to 12 without loss in the tricky period before lunch, but after the break debutant Zak Gibson claimed his first wicket in his first over of first-class circket, a strong start to a day which eventually saw the 19-year-old deposited for 57 runs from eight overs.
The bulk of that damage was done by Mitch Renwick (69) who combined with Will Young and Tom Bruce to get the Stags to a platform of 172/3.
Stags captain Will Young
However, when Renwick fell to Devcich, their resistance crumbled – no other batsman reaching 35 as Devcich (3-38) and Mitchell (2-51) took key wickets.
Main seamer Jimmy Baker (2-29 from 18 overs) also proved an economical option throughout, with the Knights set for a follow-on decision early tomorrow morning if they strike quickly.
DAY ONE
A mammoth partnership between Daniel Flynn and Bharat Popli has set up the SKYCITY Northern Knights for a big first-innings total against the Devon Hotel Central Stags at Seddon Park.
The pair racked up big centuries together as they combined for a massive 258-run partnership for the third wicket.
Captain Flynn made 158 while Popli will resume on 138 tomorrow, Northern having made their way through to 330/4 by the close of play.
The partnership was the second largest in history for the Knights against the Stags (breaking a previous mark of 142 that had been set by David White and Grant McKenzie in 1985/86), but fell just three runs short of Northern’s record all-time stand for the third wicket, set by Matthew Maynard and Shane Thomson in 1990.
Flynn and Popli’s combination was made even more impressive by the circumstances in which they had found themselves.
Sent in to bat on a distinctly green pitch, Northern had lost Dean Brownlie (12) early to the bowling of Doug Bracewell, before BJ Watling went for a duck three balls later to reduce the hosts to 37/2, the returning BLACKCAP striking again.
Yet Flynn and Popli had no worries navigating the grass-laden surface, taking advantage of a depleted Central bowling attack missing the likes of Seth Rance, Andrew Mathieson, Ben Wheeler (all injured), Navin Patel and Kurt Richards (both unavailable).
Flynn was the first to bring up his century – his second on the trot – bashing 26 fours in a classy 158. The ton was his 19th for the Knights, and 20th overall in first-class cricket; extending his own Northern record. The innings also saw him surpass 5000 runs for his team.
Flynn took particular liking to debutant seamer Liam Dudding, but Dudding took some revenge by finally claiming his wicket, and then adding Anton Devcich bowled for a duck in his next over.
However, Popli kept his stunning season going, increasing his lead as the top run-scorer in the Plunket Shield, brought to you by Budget Rental.
Although not as fluent as Flynn, Popli battled superbly for his unbeaten 138, seeing off 286 balls and stroking 22 boundaries.
He now has 842 runs on the season, and has a big platform on which to add to it tomorrow, alongside Daryl Mitchell who is with him on nine.
Tomorrow may also see the bowling debut of New Zealand Under-19s fast bowler Zak Gibson, who will be part of a relatively inexperienced Knights bowling attack, alongside Brett Hampton and spinner Joe Walker, led by the more experienced seamer Jimmy Baker.
