DAY FOUR
On the last morning, Adam Milne found himself in the unfamiliar position of being the Devon Hotel Central Stags' last hope with the bat.
Admittedly the hope was slightly against hope, with the Stags eight down and still facing a triple figure deficit. But the quick had at least managed to score only his second career first-class half century, after having helped Tom Bruce get through to his own.
Bruce's innings was the one that Canterbury had most wanted cut short. He was more measured than usual under the circumstances, weathering 122 balls for his 67 before legspinner Todd Astle took the first in what would prove a snappy five-for.
From 153/6 to 224 all out, Astle cleaned up all the remaining wickets, Milne the only Stags batsman standing up against the champing Cantabrians.
When Astle had Andy Mathieson caught, it was his 250th first-class wicket, then, five overs later, he finally trapped Milne to close in on his 10th first-class five-wicket bag.
Between Astle, Peter Fulton, Leo Carter and Matt Henry it had been quite the match for home milestones, a 161-run victory before lunch on the last day keeping them at the right end of the table pending the completion of the other round three matches.
DAY THREE stumps score: Devon Hotel Central Stags 100/5 in second innings
At tea on day three, the equation was clear: the Stags needed 386 from four sessions to win, and that meant they had to stick about on a deck that given encouragement to the pace bowlers on the first two days. But whether that encouragement was still there was another matter.
Four top batsmen falling to the pace of Adam Milne (who finished with 4-31 off 12) had certainly helped the Stags keep early tabs on the Canterbury second innings at the start of the day — but that was before BLACKCAPS bowler Matt Henry, batting at nine, got away on them for a racy, unbeaten 75 off just 52 balls.
Henry prospered because he found a late order kindred spirit in Ryan McCone, who joined in with a 40-ball 44 while Henry slapped 12 boundaries and two sixes for a career-best first-class batting performance, having reached a half century only once before in his 25 matches.
It wasn't long before he was having fun with the ball, as well, claiming Ben Smith cheaply when he was pouched by Henry Nicholls fifth over of the Stags' chase.
Henry would go on to take care of Greg Hay and Ajaz Patel, too, to end a brilliant all-round day with 3-22 off his 10. To top it all off, Patel was also his 100th first-class victim. But the biggest wicket to go was that of captain Will Young, who had looked so resilient in the first dig.
This time Young managed a solitary boundary before he was trapped by McCone. By stumps, Tom Bruce was holding the fort with an unbeaten 37, Adam Milne yet to score and Dane Cleaver still nursing a back injury. The Stags need 286 runs on the final day, with only five wickets left.
DAY TWO stumps score: Canterbury 32/2 (second innings)
It had been a long time between drinks, but sadly Canterbury allrounder Todd Astle narrowly missed out on a second first-class century in the first session on day two, having been left stranded on 96 when the Devon Hotel Central Stags' attack wrapped up the first innings in Rangiora.
The Stags had dismissed their hosts for 320 in 86.3 overs after Navin Patel had last man Will Williams caught, to finish with 3-56 in his maiden innings on a surface that had the pace bowlers champing. The only statistical consolation for stubborn Astle, meanwhile, was posting his 3000th first-class run. But his lively, 112-ball knock at six had gone a long way to helping his team's cause.
The Stags' reply took a double jolt in the last five overs before lunch, Matt Henry accounting for both wickets by removing Ben Smith and Greg Hay to have the visitors 36/2, with captain Will Young yet to score at the break.
Young showed his class as he soldiered through the middle session for a patient half century, watching Tom Bruce blast away at the other end for a typically audacious 42 off 26 balls.
Bruce's wicket ushered in Adam Milne's arrival at the batting crease as Dane Cleaver continued to rest a back injury.
Milne held out for three quarters of an hour before Ryan McCone had him trapped on 25, Cleaver ultimately joining Young on 57* at 198/5. Young would be the next to go, however, his watchfulness ended when he was caught for a 138-ball 63, his side trailing by 109.
From there it was a relatively straightforward spiral to 245 all out, Astle wrapping up the final two wickets in one over for a 75-run Canterbury lead on the first innings. Matt Henry, who did the damage at the top, and Ryan McCone also picked up three-fors.
Adam Milne helped the Stags get some clawback before stumps, picking up the wickets of first innings century-maker Leo Carter, caught for no score, and Peter Fulton, caught for one run to have Canterbury in the hot seat at 10/2. By stumps, Ronnie Hira and Henry Nicholls had averted any further disaster to take the hosts through to 32/2, a lead of 107. Day three will begin at 10am.
DAY ONE stumps score: Canterbury 208/8
The agony of a dismissal on 99 is hard to avoid when it’s your maiden first-class century that had been beckoning. But that wouldn't be the end of the story for Leo Carter. Read on.
Three figures would have been a sweet late 21st birthday present for Canterbury opening batsman Leo Carter in Rangiora.
Instead he would be forced to content himself with a new personal best, exceeding his previous 81 — and having batted through most of the first day to get Canterbury out of early trouble and up to a reasonably respectable 174/5 by the time he was caught in the last session. At least, that's what he thought at the time, when the umpire raised the finger.
But on 99, he'd gloved a ball down the leg side that had been credited by the umpire as two leg byes.
At stumps, the officials examined the "pooch" footage and decided that those two runs were conclusively off the glove: Carter's 99 was duly upgraded to 101, and a happier young man had his maiden milestone thanks to the benefits of technology.
The first day of round three had got off to a delayed start after a sweep of rain across Canterbury and, once the weather cleared after lunch, Devon Hotel Central Stags captain Will Young wasted no time in asking the Cantabrians to bat.
There was a charming touch before play when home captain Peter Fulton, playing a record 104th first-class match for his team, was presented with his cap by the man whose mark he had just bettered, Paul McEwan.
Unfortunately, day one wouldn’t prove much else of a celebration for Fulton, who clipped a solitary four before being pocketed by Tom Bruce off one of two Patels in the Stags’ attack — Manawatu’s steamed-up young pace prospect Navin Patel, who, on his first-class debut, led the attack alongside Adam Milne.
Patel would go on to account for Leo Carter’s interim heartbreak, too, to finish with 2-47 in his first day of Plunket Shield cricket.
Carter had been assisted by Henry Nicholls, who had received his first BLACKCAPS call-up earlier in the week.
Nicholls showed that he was prepared to dig in to support the established batsman, weathering 71 balls for his 28 before the other Patel — spinner Ajaz Patel — had him caught.
The score was then 119/3, the stand having been stopped at 77 with Carter on 62*. Carter then lost his young contemporary Ken McClure; and when Carter himself was dismissed, it triggered a late landslide of wickets.
Pace bowler Andrew Mathieson swept in at the close to take two in the space of three balls, trapping Kyle Jamieson before bowling BLACKCAP Matt Henry for a duck. Todd Astle scrambled a single to get the Canterbury 200 on the board before stumps, but it had been a more heartening day for the Stags all up.
Adam Milne had been a handful in the conditions, turning in superb economy of just 1.18 per over against a quality line-up. Besides Mathieson’s late burst, both Patels and Blair Tickner picked up two victims apiece, Milne ironically the only bowler to finish the day empty-handed after having created superb pressure.
Day two will start half an hour early at 10am.
