After a stuttery path to the Qualifying Finals, the Mondiale Auckland Aces received a boost ahead of the sudden death 3 v 4 match in Invercargill with the return of captain Rob Nicol, playing his first game of the Ford Trophy season since injury.
It was Invercargill's first time hosting a Ford Trophy playoff and the Aces would need all the help they could get in front of the home crowd behind an SBS Bank Otago Volts side that had done an about turn midway through the comp to put themselves on a back half winning streak. And, the Volts were coming off setting a new ground record here at Queen’s Park just days earlier.
They had the competition’s leading run-scorer in Neil Broom and Neil Wagner, Nathan McCullum and Mark Craig in the attack at the southernmost ground in the country. What could go wrong?
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Not much, it turned out. Broom rolled out his third century of the Ford Trophy season to become the Volts’ new recordholder for most runs in one summer (508), smashing the mark of that had been held by England import and Test player Jonathan Trott, who made 455 runs in 2005/06.
Broom’s seventh List A ton, and sixth for the Volts, put them in the driver’s seat and they never really took the foot off the accelerator as they eliminated the Aces, keeping their own hopes alive with a comprehensive Duckworth Lewis Stern win by 125 runs.
Batting first, they had racked up their second tally of more than 300 in back-to-back games at Queen’s Park to eliminate the Aces, and had required just two more wickets when rain curtailed the end of the game.
Broom was supported by half centuries from Michael Bracewell and BLACKCAP Jimmy Neesham, while Volts pace bowler Jacob Duffy bowled superbly for 3-16 before rain robbed him off a possible five-for at the death.
The Volts had set the tone for the day with captain Hamish Rutherford winning the toss, and brushed aside the early loss of Anaru Kitchen, who was caught behind off Lockie Ferguson first over, to start cracking the ball to the fence.
Broom and Bracewell moved the score to 33/1 after five overs, then posted the furious first fifty next over as Broom swiped two more boundaries off first change Michael Bates. They were only helped by the steaming Lockie Ferguson being taken out of the attack injured after four overs.
Reborn into some form just at the right time, Bracewell then slammed Bates for the first six of the day to take them en route to a healthy 92/1 after 15.
Broom tucked a single off Robbie O’Donnell to post his 31-ball fifty and take the score to 99: by drinks they were looking very comfortable at 104/1, Bracewell set on 40.
Beast mode
His half century would arrive off just 54 balls, seven fours to go with the six: the Volts were in beast mode.
Broom quickly answered with his own first six, a missed chance for the Aces that took him to 75 as the southerners clocked up 143/1 at the halfway point.
Bracewell tonked another off O’Donnell with the 150-partnership for the second wicket arriving in just 158 balls, in the 27th over, and Broom busting Trott’s significant record.
He’d made it to 83 when he suddenly lost his partner next over, Donovan Grobbelaar taking the catch off O’Donnell to break the damaging stand and send Bracewell back in for a crunching 69 off 75: 163/2.
That only brought the challenge of Hamish Rutherford, ready to bristle against the twin spin attack of O’Donnell and Tarun Nethula through the middle.
There was a slight pause in the frantic pace as the new combo settled, the Volts 169/2 at the 30-over mark — and then, another massive breakthrough for the Aces. Rutherford had been caught off Nethula after just three overs, but at 173/3 the Volts were in a powerful position already.
Nethula kept things relatively tight
Jimmy Neesham supported Broom into his nineties, and Broom did not hold back. He motored to the three figures, slamming it off 111 balls. Then Neesham chipped in with a six off Mark Chapman same over.
By second drinks the Volts were 216/3, the dynamic pair already sharing a 43-run stand, off just 36 balls.
But the fun was finally about to end for Broom, caught in the 40th over on 109 off 120 balls. Of course, that only brought Nathan McCullum in to try to inflict some more damage with a fellow BLACKCAP, the Volts conscious that some lurking light rain had been forecast for the second innings.
Sure enough, there was a short but pesky interruption for weather in the 45th over, but within minutes Neesham was back on to post his fifty off 47 balls, in blazing fashion — with a six off Michael Bates.
McCullum followed up with one of his own to end a stinging over for the Aces.
They were now on to post their second 300-total at the ground in a row, but McCullum was caught at the death and Neesham succumbed to Grobbelaar just two balls later.
Derek de Boorder stepped up and put Colin de Grandhomme over the fence: 291/6.
'The Container' is aghast
Grobbelaar, the “container”, had lived up to his tag, going for under a run a ball at this point, which was lean in the context of the relentlessly aggressive Volts approach. Moments later he had Mark Craig back in the hut to finish with 3-48 off his eight overs.
But it was not enough from the Aces’ attack, the Volts’ 300 on the board with an over to come and de Boorder and Sam Wells taking it further to 312/7.
So, the Aces would need to score at better than a run per ball to stay alive, and had to do so against an attack that featured Neil Wagner and Jacob Duffy at the top, and BLACKCAPS spinners Mark Craig and Nathan McCullum.
The pressure told early, hometown Volt Duffy taking just 7 balls to strike — Guptill-Bunce gone.
That brought Rob Nicol in for his first bat of the season.
Meanwhile Brad Cachopa showed his dangerous style early with four boundaries off Wagner, including three in a row.
That gave Nicol plenty of cheer as he joined in with a four and a six against the fuming Volt, but then — the big blow. Cachopa gone in just the eighth over, caught off Duffy.
Coming off a brilliant maiden Ford Trophy century in the previous game, that brought Chapman to the crease at 39/2, Duffy and Wagner continuing their assault with the ball.
They would be rewarded with a further wicket each before the first change, Duffy quickly taking care of Chapman and Wagner getting his first by just as quickly sending Colin de Grandhomme home: the Aces were officially up against it at 45/4 after just nine overs.
Nicol had survived the blast of pace to see Wells come on as the eventual first change in the 13th over, and looked to steady the chase with Robbie O’Donnell.
If O’Donnell had any nerves, they might have been eased when he helped himself to a couple of fours off Jimmy Neesham, and at the 15-over mark they had got to 77/4.
It was only a brief respite. By drinks it was 80/5, Neesham removing Nicol on 23.
O’Donnell was next, falling to Wells shortly after posting the Aces’ 100: at 109/6 in the 23rd over, the Aces’ situation had been upgraded to red alert.
Grobbelaar and Shawn Hicks, who had dropped down the order with the return of Nicol, tried to hang in there, but McCullum (picking up a caught and bowled) and Craig struck in consecutive overs to further hassle the Aces down to 150/8.
Shortly afterwards the skies broke again, and with the Volts having been miles ahead on the Duckworth Lewis Stern calculations throughout, no one needed to get out their calculators to figure out who had gone through to the last chance saloon at Hagley Oval.
Since a rainoff in New Plymouth, the Volts have now gone unbeaten for five matches in a row, including their remarkable DLS tie against the Firebirds, making their rocky start to the competition just a memory.
The Volts will meet Canterbury at Hagley Oval, Wednesday from 11am, with free entry to find out who will join the Devon Hotel Central Stags in the Grand Final at Pukekura Park on Saturday.
