DAY THREE
The Mondiale Auckland Aces successfully chased down 233 to win a confounding clash against the SKYCITY Northern Knights within three days in round two of the Plunket Shield, brought to you by Budget Rental.
Despite losing six hours of play to rain on Day Two, the game was always looking like it would be completed in three days, after a staggering 23 wickets fell on Day One at Bay Oval.
The Knights resumed this morning at 147/7 and some lower-order grafting from Scott Kuggeleijn helped to set a reasonably challenging total.
Kuggeleijn made 50, putting on 32 with Brett Hampton; 19 with Jono Boult and 21 with Jimmy Baker as the hosts scraped through to 206 all out — setting the Aces 233 for the outright win.
With the Aces having been rolled for 98 in their first innings, but the Bay Oval wicket having flattened out considerably, both teams would have been confident of their chances of victory.
It was the Aucklanders who took the impetus, though, getting off to an aggressive start with a stand of 47 for the first wicket.
Local Brett Hampton made his Plunket Shield debut in the match
Although Brett Hampton got two scalps to set the Aces back to 55/2, Rob Nicol found a partner in Colin de Grandhomme, both players making half-centuries to seemingly kill off the contest at 144/2.
Colin de Grandhomme tees off
As is often the case, however, in the Plunket Shield, the tide turned, both players trapped in front by Baker to make it 149/4 — and breathe life back into the contest.
The always-attacking Colin Munro wasn’t overawed by the sudden loss of wickets, blasting a quick and crucial 50 from 40 balls, hitting five fours and two sixes to leave the Aces needing just 33 more runs with six wickets remaining.
Just as the Mount Maunganui spectators started to lose hope of a dramatic home finish, Kuggeleijn provided yet another turning point, dismissing Munro before having Donovan Grobbelaar and Tarun Nethula both caught for ducks in consecutive balls — the Aces falling from 200/4 to 205/7.
However, that was as close as the home team got to satisfactory conclusion, as the experienced Aces duo of Brad Cachopa and Michael Bates steered their team home for a three-wicket win.
DAY TWO
A six-hour rain delay couldn’t stop more wickets from falling on day two of the Plunket Shield, brought to you by Budget Rental, encounter between the Mondial Auckland Aces and SKYCITY Northern Knights.
Set to resume at 39/3, the Knights had to wait until 4.30pm to get back out to the middle, with a steady dose of rain having stopped the eager Aces bowlers from adding to the 23 wickets that tumbled on Friday.
When Bharat Popli and Anton Devcich were finally able to resume their partnership after tea, it initially looked like the Bay Oval pitch had settled down, after having played like a bowler’s paradise on day one.
The duo brought up a 50 partnership – just the second of the game, Popli having been involved in both; moving the Knights through to 89/3 before the first scalp of the day was claimed: Popli bowled by Lockie Ferguson for 33.
Devcich carried on, bringing up the game’s first half-century in an aggressive innings which saw last season’s star batsman swat seven fours.
However, his dismissal to the bowling of Donovan Grobbelaar started a string of wickets which saw Tim Seifert fall for a duck later in the over, before Grobbelaar had his third wicket in just five overs, dismissing debutant Nick Kelly for 21.
Those setbacks brought the Knights to 134/7, but Scott Kuggeleijn (18 not out) and Brett Hampton (2 not out) saw the hosts through to stumps at 147/7 – a lead of 173 runs.
Kuggeleijn has a Plunket Shield century to his name, while Hampton (a ton against Zimbabwe) and number 10 Jono Boult (a high score of 76) both can swing the willow more than competently, something which will need to be done if the Knights are to set an imposing total.
Yet, on a pitch which has seen 27 wickets fall for just 369 runs, but could flatten out on day three, any total set by the Knights is likely to leave both teams confident of their chances of winning.
DAY ONE
One of the most remarkable opening days in recent Plunket Shield history saw 23 wickets fall in the clash between the Mondiale Auckland Aces and SKYCITY Northern Knights.
Playing at Mount Maunganui’s Bay Oval, pace bowlers had a field day with both teams’ seamers ripping through the opposition batting lineup to create an extremely rare scenario: the Knights starting their second innings with an hour remaining in the day’s play.
It was the Aces who had the first crack, and they quickly made their mark.
Knights openers Joe Carter and Daniel Flynn both perished before the score had reached double digits, before Bharat Popli (32) and Daryl Mitchell (19) showed some early resilience to add 51 for the third wicket, in a partnership spanning 21 overs.
Bharat Popli
Little did anyone know that their stand would be the biggest partnership of the day, the duo falling in quick succession to kickstart a rapid accumulation of wickets by the Aces.
Young wicketkeeper Tim Seifert stuck around to make 25, but he was the second highest scorer in the innings as Michael Bates ripped through the lower order to end with 4-29, and dismiss the Knights for 124.
Amazingly, that seemingly well below-par score was more than enough for the Knights to get a first-innings lead.
The Knights' bowlers quickly showed that it wasn’t just the Aces who could find favour with the movement in the pitch, Rob Nicol departing for a first-ball duck.
At 20/1, the Aucklanders seemed to have recovered, but 20/1 quickly became 23/4, and then 43/7 as the Knights' opening bowlers – Jimmy Baker and Scott Kuggeleijn – took control of proceedings.
Jimmy Baker
Mitchell McClenaghan (20) and Bates (16) put on 31 for the ninth wicket and, in the process, became their team's two highest scorers as the Aces went on to be bowled out for just 98, giving the Knights a 26-run first-innings lead.
Baker had ended with 4-44, while Kuggeleijn had career-best figures of 5-32. The other wicket was taken by Plunket Shield debutant Brett Hampton, who accounted for Brad Cachopa in his first over, ending with 1-13.
The day wasn’t done though, the Knights having to see out another hour of play before stumps were called.
Five overs in, it looked like the Aces were swinging the game back in their favour, with Bates and McClenaghan reducing the hosts to 17/3. However, Popli (15*) and Anton Devcich (7*) saw off the final seven overs of the day, adding 22 runs in the process to have the Knights leading by 65 runs heading into tomorrow.
Both teams have claimed the maximum four bowling points from the encounter and Bay Oval may well be home to an intriguing finish over the weekend.
