ROUND 10 of 10
CANTERBURY defeated NORTHERN DISTRICTS by 8 wickets - bonus point win
18 February 2024
Bay Oval, Mt Maunganui
Points: Canterbury 5, ND 0
SELECTED MILESTONES
Ben Pomare : List A debut (Northern Districts)
Josh Brown : List A debut (Northern Districts)
Leo Carter : 50th List A match (47th for Canterbury)
After eight of the 10 rounds of the regular season, Northern Districts had been top of The Ford Trophy table.
But after their final two rounds, away and home against Canterbury, they found themselves bumped out of the top three - locked out of even the 2v3 Elimination Final playoff.
How did it happen? One word: Canterbury.
Last year's beaten finalist (and runner up in this season's Dream11 Super Smash, after a washout against top qualifier the Auckland Aces) had a hunger to get it right, and finally get a chance to ink their name on a trophy after so many near-misses in recent seasons.
Canterbury had already snatched the lead from ND in Christchurch before the two teams flew to Mount Maunganui to face off in a huge game, and they were winging their way without regular skipper Cole McConchie, who was out injured.
Leo Carter therefore took over the captaincy, in his 50th game to boot.
ND captain Jeet Raval won the toss at a warm Bay Oval and batted, but Zak Foulkes was almost immediately on target with his hooping in-swing as Katene Clarke departed at 1/1, after his second delivery - keeper Mitch Hay making a full stretch leg-side catch.
Raval and Bharat Popli then got through to the 10-over mark unscathed before Gus McKenzie and Ed Nuttall claimed them in quick succession to have ND 49/3 after 12.
McKenzie then strung together consecutive maidens to keep the pressure on, before Joe Carter and Henry Cooper got going with a rebuild.
But at 80/3 in the 21st over, ND again lost two quick wickets - Fraser Sheat taking out both Cooper and debutant Josh Brown in the space of three balls, to make that 81/5.
Canterbury had the ascendancy now and when Sheat removed ND's other debutant, keeper-batter Ben Pomare, in his next over, it was looking even more tough for ND to fight their way back.
Ish Sodhi teamed up with Foulkes in the attack and did a great job of keeping the pressure on. Just as Northern was inching towards getting their hundred on the board - in the 31st over, well behind the eight ball,
Foulkes struck again as the pressure told and Kristian Clarke departed at 98/7, having skied a mistimed pull shot up in the air to Sodhi.
Northern's day was summed up when last man Joe Walker hammered a straight drive, only for bowler Ed Nuttall to get a touch on it en route to skittling the non-striker's castle: ND was all out for 160 in the 45th over.
Henry Nicholls and Chad Bowes opened the reply and got 50 on the board without trouble. But when first change Tim Pringle came on in the eighth over to introduce some early spin, he broke the stand at 50/1 with Bowes offering a catch off his second delivery. It was a wicket maiden for the tall local.
Mitch Hay and Nicholls put on 30 for the second wicket before Hay fell, but once the hot pairing of Nicholls and Leo Carter were together again - fresh off a Canterbury record stand in Christchurch, that was it for Northern.
Leo Carter PHOTOSPORT
Carter and Nicholls brought home a clinical win in 36 overs, Nicholls unbeaten on 85* and Carter 33*.
They were top of the table, straight through to the big one on Saturday back at Hagley Oval where it will be free admission with gold coin donations to Canterbury's chosen charities.
