Defending champs Central Stags headed into round seven under pressure — and ended it with the biggest winning margin in Ford Trophy history.
How it happened
• Stags skipper Will Young looked to bat first at Pukekura Park on a warm, cloudy morning on the same pitch that had been used for the McDonald’s Super Smash Grand Final. They were facing off against an already qualified Northern Districts side, now captained by Jono Boult, ND bringing in Joe Carter after losing Ish Sodhi to the BLACKCAPS.
• At 138 for no loss, things were already looking grim for ND when Scott Kuggeleijn finally fired one through Jesse Ryder, who was making batting look easy after blasting ahead for a quick 85, until he lost his stumps in the 21st over.
• Ryder had shared the opening stand with George Worker, who was coming off a good unbeaten 80 in a rain-off at the Basin and was on the brink of another fifty.
• Worker is no stranger to big scores at Pukekura Park, having hit his career best 194 at this ground as well as a big century in last year’s Ford Trophy Final.
• This time, however, he would bat all the way into the 48th over for his 10th List A century: 181 off 143 balls. His innings alone would prove more than the entire ND team could muster.
• The tally already solid at 219/1 by second drinks, significantly Worker would share a Stags record second-wicket stand of 184 with his captain Will Young, who looked to have refound his best touch at his home ground with his 87. Their partnership broke a long-standing mark against allcomers that had been held by Ross Taylor and Jamie How (at Masterton in 2004/05), and ensured that the Stags would get up to a fearsome total of 401 for eight, which registers as one of the sixth largest Ford Trophy totals of all time — five of those have been by the Stags.
• The Worker/Young stand was finally broken in the 43rd over and while ND ran through some quick wickets at the death — Brett Randall (3-68) putting himself on a hat-trick, with the next delivery a runout, four wickets falling in the space of eight balls — it was all too little too late with the pressure off the home side in the first innings.
• However, the Stags were well aware the job wasn’t done, since they needed not just a win, but a bonus point win to keep themselves alive in the competition. To do that, they had to stop ND getting to 320 as the sun continued to dry out a belter of a pitch.
• Ben Wheeler made an early breakthrough in the fifth over, then Seth Rance struck next over, before quickly picking up dangerous striker Nick Kelly as well. When Young brought on some spin, Ajaz Patel picked up the wicket-taking duties with Bharat Popli stumped and Daryl Mitchell caught to have Northern backs against the wall at 44 for five.
• Both Stags spinners, Patel and Worker, would go on to career-best hauls, but first they had to stop some torrid resistance from Tim Seifert and Scott Kuggeleijn — who belted his maiden List A half century en route to 65 off 57 balls.
• But they were always fighting a losing battle and both departed caught off the spinners, Worker going on to wrap it up in the 36th over, the bonus point in the bag as well, after ND was dismissed for 174.
• The new national record winning margin went in the books at 227 runs, exceeding the Otago Volts' 222-run victory against Northern Districts at Molyneux Park in 2014/15.
Scorecard
