ROUND TWO OF EIGHT
AUCKLAND ACES lost to CENTRAL STAGS by an innings and 99 runs
Kennards Hire Community Oval, Auckland
25-27 October, 2022
Toss: Aces who batted
First innings bonus points:
Aces 0 batting, 4 bowling
Stags 2 batting, 4 bowling
Total points this round: Aces 4, Central Stags 18
Selected Milestones
Doug Bracewell - 11th first-class bag
Tom Bruce - seventh first-class half century
Adithya Ashok - first-class debut
Adithya Ashok - maiden first-class bag
DAY THREE
A brilliant runout from Central Stags paceman Blair Tickner in the deep put the gloss on a big victory in Auckland as the Stags defeated the Aces by an innings with more than a day to spare.
With 4-39 off 18 overs in the second innings, Tickner had been in the frame for a bag at the overcast Oval - before Brett Randell and Doug Bracewell rudely wrapped up the Aces' innings on 187. But the big paceman will no doubt settle for a victory that netted his team 18 out of the possible 20 points, and keeps them unbeaten after the first two rounds.
The Stags would have been without the services of opening batsman Ben Smith had they needed to bat again, Smith recovering from surgery on a ruptured testicle sustained while batting on day one of the fixture.
The match was Tom Bruce's first victory as the red-ball skipper for the Stags.
DAY TWO
The Central Stags pocketed a fat 286-run first innings lead after seeing a familiar sight this year: Tom Bruce raising his bat for a big hundred.
The joint NZC 2022 Men's Domestic Player of the Year continued his prolific, drought-breaking 2022 Plunket Shield form with an innings of 169 - that was Bruce's third first-class Plunket Shield century in his last four matches, including two unbeaten double centuries at the close of last summer.
Having rolled the Aces for 75 on Day One, Bruce and late order handyman Brett Randell made sure the Stags responded with a first innings total of 361.
Consolation for the Aces came in the form of an impressive performance from young leg-spinning star Adithya Ashok who claimed a maiden five-wicket bag (5-106) on Plunket Shield debut.
His delivery to remove BLACKCAP Will Young was one to savour and the Indian-born 20-year-old Aucklander sealed his bag after a marathon 40.4 overs with the final wicket of Bruce.
The hosts reduced their deficit to 185 by stumps and, with eight second innings wickets still in hand, still have some hope for progress on the third day after a much-needed partnership in the last hours saw the Aces begin to fight back against the rampaging Stags.
Captain Robbie O'Donnell (33*) and first drop Cole Briggs (40*) carefully built the unbroken 78-run partnership for the third wicket that took them to stumps and a total of 101/2 overnight.
DAY ONE
Defending Plunket Shield champions the Auckland Aces suffered another horror start in the second match of their campaign, winning the toss but finding themselves dismissed in little more than one session for just 75.
That tally was the Aces' third lowest against the Central Stags in 102 matches and 72 years of battle, and it sounded a warning that the Stags' attack will be one to watch this summer.
Veteran allrounder Doug Bracewell claimed his 11th first-class five-wicket bag with 5-25 off just 11.5 overs, including four maidens. It was his seventh bag for the Stags, and he had ample support from last season's standout Plunket Shield wicket-taker, Brett Randell.
Randell was playing for Northern Districts last season but has added an X-factor to the Stags' pace attack this season, claiming a sharp 4-21 off his 12 overs, including five maidens.
Randell was supported by two fine diving catches from Will Young in the slips while Bracewell will begin the second innings later in the game on a split hat-trick, following the Stags' first innings - which began shortly after lunch.
