A stunning maiden 159 off just 112 balls from 21-year-old flyer Mark Chapman couldn’t help the Mondiale Auckland Aces to victory over the power-packed Devon Hotel Central Stags at Eden Park Outer Oval.
In his first season with the Aces, Chapman’s fighting innings was his first century in any format for the side (he already has a List A century for Hong Kong, an unbeaten 124).
Mark Chapman shone in a special knock
It gave his side some solace as they attempted to chase down the Stags' formidable first innings tally of 348 for seven.
A victory would have seen the Aces head to the 1v2 Qualifying Final in Canterbury, which confers an extra life in the Finals series for the top sides. However, the loss means they will now play the SBS Bank Otago Volts in Invercargill in the much less fancied sudden death 3v4 Qualifying Final for a spot in the next round of the playoffs.
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On a good deck where 300 to 320 was par, the Stags' blockbuster total in the high-scoring match was built on a succession of strong partnerships.
Ben Smith and George Worker impressed early for the Stags after they were sent in by Aces captain Michael Bates on a steamy morning with warm, thick banks of cloud parked ahead.
Opener Ben Smith struck 11 fours and two sixes
The sound Smith motored from the start, while Worker supported for 14 overs in a 50-run stand as they looked to see off the worst of the swing in the humid, almost Hong Kong-like conditions, that were the eerie remnants of a Pacific cyclone.
Worker's patience was not rewarded, however, as he was ultimately bowled for just 11 runs the moment that spinner Robbie O’Donnell came into the attack.
Jesse Ryder was next up and likewise played a measured innings, sharing a 100-run partnership with Smith for the second wicket.
Smith just kept motoring, using his feet and striking crisply with his lovely straight bat. He seemed for all the world bound for a century.
It was a solid, intelligent approach from the top order against a side that could be testing in the conditions but, soon after the partnership milestone, the duo had an awful calling mix-up and Smith had to depart for 90 after they ended up together at the same end.
Ryder lost his wicket not long after, an important strike from Donovan Grobbelaar.
But that only saw two more stormtroopers step up in the form of captain Will Young and Tom Bruce.
Two new men at the crease, but the Taranaki duo settled things for the Stags to continue to push the score along.
Bruce wasn’t slowed down when he lost Young: Doug Bracewell combined with him instead for another useful stand, Bruce going through a couple of broken bats en route to the Stags' top score of 91.
Bruce's return to run-making mode featured 11 boundaries and four sixes in a typically entertaining watch.
Bracewell again proved the Stags had dangerous depth, and went past 50 shortly afterwards. He dealt in sixes, contributing five of them with just two fours in an explosive 23-ball 52 that deepened the frowns on the Aces' foreheads.
Cleaver and Wheeler, no shabby batsmen themselves, then helped the Stags finish off on a sterling 348/7.
This despite Donovan Grobbelaar, the Aces' "container" having collected 4-65, putting himself on a hat-trick in the last over with the wickets of Bruce and Bracewell, before claiming Cleaver on the last delivery of the innings to make it three in an over.
In reply, the Aces suffered blows from the start as the Stags seamers relished the conditions, Michael Guptill-Bunce bowled by Seth Rance for a painful golden duck in the first over.
Seth Rance, quiet achiever
Rance is never to be trifled with, and with Bevan Small (3-45), Doug Bracewell and Ben Wheeler provided an exacting and relentless test of the Aucklanders.
The side’s next three wickets went cheaply, reduced to 35/4 when Brad Cachopa lost his wicket, run out on 22: a moment that sent shockwaves around the ground.
Bevan Small took three wickets
Faced with a required RPO of seven from the outset, youngsters Chapman and O’Donnell shared a solid stand to put some life back into the chase, but a further dent was put in the efforts when O’Donnell, and then Michael Barry, lost their wickets in quick succession.
Caught on 29, the loss of O'Donnell plunged the Aces to 111/5
Barry’s wicket saw Grobbelaar come to the crease. He used his experience to support Chapman, who got to work on an impressive partnership that took the Aces past 250 in a more than a 100-run stay at the crease.
In that stand, Chapman brought up his hundred in calm fashion off just 88 balls, and Grobbelaar made a half century.
Youth and experience combined
Neither a peppering of sharp bouncers from Ben Wheeler nor Grobbelaar’s wicket, after he was bowled by Rance (3-40), slowed Chapman down.
Despite bad cramp in the heat and humidity, the impressive youngster hit some large boundaries as he pushed at the run rate and moved past 150.
Ben Wheeler is on his way back to full gear
The boundaries included one over the Eden Park Outer Oval fence onto Sandringham Road, and one onto the West Stand to join "the concourse club". He finished off by putting one near on the top of the Stags' players' tent for good measure.
Chapman’s spectacular stay made the home crowd's day, and deserved to go unbeaten. But he came to an end at 159 in the dying breaths of the game.
Michael Bates and Lockie Ferguson batted out the rest of the by now quite hopeless chase, the Aces falling short at 301/9 off their 50 overs. The Stags were off to Hagley Oval, while the stop-start Aces had to hastily book flights to the deep south on a must-win mission.
