Wellington's Luke Woodcock.

High stakes at Eden Park

Posted Tuesday, 8 November, 2016 in Match Reports

DAY FOUR

End of match — Auckland Aces 276/6 (Martin Guptill 128 not out, Rob Nicol 62; Jeetan Patel 3-65) drew with the Wellington Firebirds 240/9 declared (Stephen Murdoch 52, Hamish Marshall 73, Michael Pollard 34, Tom Blundell 45; Tarun Nethula 5-71) at Eden Park Outer Oval, Auckland on 8 November 2016

An unbeaten century from Martin Guptill wasn’t enough for the Auckland Aces to pull off a compelling run-chase at Eden Park Outer Oval.

Video scorecard

Requiring 332 runs from 72 overs for an outright victory over the Wellington Firebirds, Guptill led the way with 128 not out, but the required run rate eventually proved too steep for the hosts as they called stumps at 276 for six. 

Guptill collected his 12th first-class hundred and continued a trend of fine performances in a first game back after Test match duties.

His contribution followed an impressive morning of bowling from Tarun Nethula, who claimed 5-71 to pin back the Firebirds’ attempted accumulation.



The Wellingtonians had begun the day with a 200-run lead with eight wickets in hand, but a mix of good bowling and aggressive batting meant wickets fell at regular intervals and stemmed the flow of runs.

Their quest for a favourable declaration started well as Hamish Marshall (73), Stephen Murdoch (52), Michael Pollard (34) and Tom Blundell (45) all looked to give their bowlers time to claim 10 wickets.

However, Pollard, Blundell and Jeetan Patel were all dismissed while attempting to score quick runs, while Matt McEwan was run out trying to nab a quick single as the Firebirds’ tail order all came and went in quick succession.   

Nethula was the bowler doing the bulk of the damage, deceiving batsmen with his flight and goading them into loose strokes as he claimed his ninth Plunket Shield five-wicket bag, and second from three matches this season.

As wickets tumbled, Michael Papps declared at nine down, leaving the Aces with a difficult task to obtain the valuable 12 points on offer for an outright win.   

First-innings run-scorers Jeet Raval and Michael Guptill-Bunce didn't last long as Patel struck early, but Guptill found an ally in Rob Nicol, who made 62 as the pair added 111 for the third wicket.

At one stage, the Aces required 143 runs from 29 overs with eight wickets in hand – a tricky, but achievable, task. However, much like in Wellington’s innings, several key wickets slowed the rate of scoring as new batsmen struggled to get established.

Iain McPeake claimed the scalps of Nicol and Mark Chapman (6), before the quest for a high run rate scuppered the innings of both Brad Cachopa (14) and Donovan Grobbelaar (10).

While Guptill had a big-hitting ally at the crease in Colin de Grandhomme (who had been ill in the morning), the required run rate eventually became too much to conquer, and the sides played out a draw.

The Firebirds took eight first-innings bonus points from the game to drop to second on the Plunket Shield table  while the Aces claimed seven to sit in third place. The Firebirds host the Stags in the Basin Reserve next week while round four sees the Aces take on Northern Districts in what will be their second match, but first ‘away game’ at Bay Oval, this season.

DAY THREE

Wellington Firebirds 99/2 in the second innings (Hamish Marshall 58*, Stephen Murdoch 31*) lead the Auckland Aces by 200 runs. Earlier: Auckland Aces 374 all out (Michael Guptill-Bunce 109; Matt McEwan 4-80, Matt Taylor career best 3-34) at Eden Park Outer Oval on 7 November 2016

First innings batting bonus points, Firebirds 4, Aces 4 (completed)
First innings bowling bonus points, Aces 3, Firebirds 4 (completed)

The Wellington Firebirds hold the upper hand after three days of their Plunket Shield rematch with the Auckland Aces; a composed all-round effort putting the visitors in position for a potential declaration tomorrow.

Scorecard

The Bruce Edgar-coached side hold a lead of 200 with eight wickets in hand at Eden Park Outer Oval, dragging the Aces back from what had looked to be a promising position at the start of the day.

In a day with multiple brief rain delays, the Aces had resumed their innings at 220/2 in response to Wellington’​s 475 and, although they immediately lost nightwatchman Tarun Nethula, Michael Guptill-Bunce soldiered on as wickets fell around him.

The aggressive right-hander brought up his third Plunket Shield century, stroking 15 fours and four sixes in a 139-ball 109 — continuing the impressive top order display which ultimatelty saw Guptill-Bunce, Jeet Raval and Martin Guptill contribute 66.5 percent of Auckland’s second innings score.

That score wound up at 374 – potentially lower than anticipated as the Aces  slumped from 299/4. The top three aside, nobody else passed 30 for Auckland, with Wellington's bowlers Matt McEwan and Matt Taylor continuing strong all-round games.

After posting a career-high 63 with the bat, McEwan took 4-80 with the ball, while Taylor chipped in with a career-best 3-34, claiming the last three wickets to fall as the Firebirds claimed eight first-innings bonus points, while the Aces picked up seven.

With a 101-run lead, Firebirds opener Luke Woodcock strode to the crease to continue his heavy run-scoring start to the season. Having made an unbeaten 203 in the first innings, remarkably Woodcock was this time removed first ball by a superb, rising delivery from Cody Andrews – rapped on the gloves, a simple catch taken in the slips cordon.  

Opening partner Michael Papps followed soon after, caught well by a diving Guptill at second slip, but Stephen Murdoch and Hamish Marshall steadied proceedings, adding an unbeaten 83 for the third wicket.

That partnership has put the competition-leading Firebirds in the box seat, and could provide some interesting strategical decisions for Edgar and skipper Papps, provided the Aces' bowlers can’t spark a batting collapse early on day four.

Play will commence at 10.00am tomorrow – weather permitting – as both sides search for valuable outright points.

DAY TWO

At stumps — Auckland Aces 220/2 (Martin Guptill 56, Jeet Raval 84, Michael Guptill-Bunce 66 not out) trail the Wellington Firebirds 475/8 declared (Luke Woodcock 203 not out, Matt Taylor 41, Matt McEwan 63) by 255 runs at Eden Park Outer Oval, Auckland on 6 November 2016

First innings batting bonus points, Firebirds 4 (maximum achieved), Aces 1 (in progress)
First innings bowling bonus points, Aces 3 (completed), Firebirds 0 (in progress)

Scorecard

Let’s list just a few of Luke Woodcock’s achievements on a warm morning at Eden Park Outer Oval.
    •    The Firebirds’ much-loved anchorman reached 150 as he and a gallant Matt McEwan put on 110 for the eighth wicket
    •    He went past coach Bruce Edgar (6494 runs) to become the Firebirds’ second highest all-time runscorer in first-class cricket
    •    He went on to hit 6557 first-class career runs; within a few strokes of Matthew Bell’s Firebirds record of 6565
    •    He went to lunch on 194* (Iain McPeake 12*, the Firebirds 454/8), having determinedly stayed put after McEwan had been dismissed for a 72-ball 63
    •    Their stand having grown to 54 runs, a boundary off Tarun Nethula shortly after lunch saw him to the second first-class double century of his career — at which point Wellington Firebirds captain Michael Papps declared at 475/8
    •    All this in a match which is aleady special for Woodcock: it’s his 120th first-class match for the Wellington Firebirds, which equals Evan Gray’s appearances record for the side and sits behind only James Marshall’s 127 first-class appearances for Northern Districts nationally (he will need to wait until next season, however, to threaten Marshall’s overall record)
    •    The opening batsman now has a run of scores of 6, 98, 120 and 203* from this 2016/17 Plunket Shield season, at an average of 142.33, 57 fours and two sixes and counting

So, it had been a pretty good game so far for the veteran allround nugget. And emotional self atonement, if that is the word, for losing his wicket on 98 against this largely same attack in the opening round as he batted into a fifth session for the mammoth innings.

But the Aces’ top order had other plans for the day and, by stumps, chunks had been torn out of the Firebirds’ hefty total already.

Both home openers started strongly in the spotlight, Jeet Raval and returning BLACKCAP Martin Guptill each reaching half-centuries in the last session in a 110-run opening stand. The slightly more aggressive Guptill had found his first six of the innings off Jeetan Patel, but on 56 an attacking flourish this time saw him playing on against an ebullient McEwan.

Raval and first drop Michael Guptill-Bunce put on 93 for the second, before Raval was caught on 84 off Patel. Guptill-Bunce (66*) also got his half-century, however, before being joined by nightwatchman Nethula: the prime batsmen had all been allowed to find the beckoning boundaries too often as the Aces reached 220/2 overnight.

Earlier in the day, the Firebirds' McEwan had also shown how it’s dine. He had come in after an exciting double breakthrough for Colin de Grandhomme — two wickets falling in three balls to suddenly push the wickets column from 307/7 to 305/7 in the 88th over, when Woodcock was on 125.

But McEwan found the boundary rope early in his innings, kept it up and ultimately cruised to his second first-class half century for the Firebirds — off 63 balls, poked in style with his second six off Tarun Nethula, a stroke which also brought up the Firebirds’ 400 in just the 109th over. Cody Andrews would be the man to finally top him, the debutant claiming his long-awaited third wicket after such an exciting beginning to the match.

While the Outer Oval has smiled on batsmen in the first half of a key clash, an inclement forecast over the next two days may dampen down the spirits for leaders the Firebirds and their defending champion foe.

DAY ONE

At stumps — Wellington Firebirds 275/5 (Luke Woodcock 117 not out, Tom Blundell 85) v Auckland Aces at Eden Park Outer Oval, Auckland on 5 November 2016

First innings batting bonus points, Firebirds 2 (in progress)
First innings bowling bonus points, Aces 2 (in progress)

Never mind the showers, it’s raining runs for Luke Woodcock. The rejuvenated Wellington Firebirds opening batsman made it back-to-back centuries in the Plunket Shield after reaching his ninth first-class century as round three got underway in overcast Auckland.

Scorecard

All of 34-year-old Woodcock’s centuries have been for his beloved Firebirds, and his run of scores this season now reads: 6, 98, 120, 117*.

Unbeaten overnight, his 137-run stand for the fifth wicket with wicketkeeper-batsman Tom Blundell would be the highlight of the day. Blundell had joined forces with Woodcock in the first session at 79/4, when the opener was on 33, and significantly they helped the Firebirds recover from a rocky morning session to be 278/5 by close of play.

Auckland Aces debutant Cody Andrews had made the early in-roads, charging in at awkward angles, varying his line and picking up both Michael Papps and Stephen Murdoch in his first spell of first-class cricket: 4-0-5-2. The former ND paceman finished the day with 2-57, however, as the Firebirds’ defenders knuckled down, Blundell’s wicket the only to fall in the final session.

For Woodcock, the century was all the sweeter for it having been his second chance against the Aces this season: it was against this same side, in Mount Maunganui’s opening round, that he had had to swallow an agonising dismissal on 98.

The left-handed anchor weathered 244 balls in the showery, stop-start day, while Blundell had attacked for 85 off 108, including 12 fours and a six. Matt Taylor (24*) then helped Woodcock through to the close, the pair sitting on an unbroken 62-run partnership.

After having put the Firebirds in, there was little more joy for the Aces, but they could simultaneously celebrate Donovan Grobbelaar’s 50th first-class wicket and keeper Brad Cachopa’s 100th catch for Auckland — both arriving with Hamish Marshall’s exit.

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