Auckland Aces captain Robbie O'Donnell has asked the Otago Volts to bowl first at Auckland's Kennards Hire Community Oval this morning, Martin Guptill and George Worker opening the Aces' account and reaching 50 without loss in a special match for both teams.
From a competition standpoint, today's match - played behind closed gates - is an opportunity for the Aces to clinch the last remaining spot in The Ford Trophy Grand Final, to be played from 11am this Saturday, live on Spark Sport, in Queenstown.
With a minimum of four points available for a win (two for a washout or tied game), the Aces head into today's penultimate round needing three points to ensure that they qualify. Should they lose today, they will have a second chance against the unbeaten top qualifier, the Central Stags, in Auckland in the final regular-season match on Thursday, while the Wellington Firebirds wait nervously on the results.
Today's match carries extra significance to both the Aces and Volts as it is the first time that the Ross Dykes Memorial Trophy (above) will be on the line for one-day fixtures between the two teams.
A popular and respected BLACKCAPS selector and team manager, NZC Match Referee, and Otago Cricket CEO, Dykes passed away in November 2020, and the new trophy recalls his strong connection and service to both Major Associations.
DYKES (right) acting as a Ford Trophy match referee between the teams in 2020 | PHOTOSPORT
Dykes played eight List A one-dayers for Auckland as the format took hold in the early 1970s, as well as 31 first-class matches in his own playing days.
Today's match is also likely to be the last appearance in Domestic cricket by retiring Otago Volts legend Neil Broom, who has been named at first drop in the Volts' starting XI.
Former BLACKCAP and Canterbury representative Broom has announced that this will be his last season in Domestic cricket after a stellar career that will see him go out as Otago's top all-time one-day batsman, as the first to have scored more than 4000 career runs for the team in The Ford Trophy.
For the Auckland Aces, 20-year-old former NZ U19 representative Simon Keene - who last week took a first-class bag on debut against the Otago Volts in Dunedin in the Plunket Shield - is meanwhile making his List A one-day debut.
LIST-A DEBUT | Simon Keene makes his first Ford Trophy start today!#FordTrophy #FollowSuit 🔵🏏 pic.twitter.com/y3wzF9JBCB
— Auckland Cricket (@aucklandcricket) February 21, 2022
TEAMS on 22-2-2022 at Kennard's Hire Community Oval, Auckland
- Martin Guptill, George Worker, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Robbie O'Donnell (c), Ben Horne (w), Sean Solia, Will Somerville, Adithya Ashok, Ben Lister, Simon Keene (List A one-day debut). 12th man: Ollie Pringle
- Nick Kelly (c), Dale Phillips, Neil Broom, Mitch Renwick, Anaru Kitchen, Matt Bacon, Michael Rippon, Max Chu (w), Jacob Duffy, Travis Muller, Angus McKenzie. 12 man: Ben Lockrose
