DAY FOUR
A defiant last wicket partnership from the Wellington Firebirds has culled the SKYCITY Northern Knights’ hopes of an outright win in their Plunket Shield opener.
Brent Arnel and Dane Hutchinson put on an unbeaten 81 for the last wicket, making Northern’s outside chance an impossible proposition and forcing the contest to be called off shortly after tea.
When the duo met at the crease, Wellington led by 166 runs with 50 overs remaining — after Trent Boult had ripped through the Firebirds middle order to give the Knights a distinct shot at the outright victory.
Boult took four wickets in five overs in a devastating spell, dismissing Luke Ronchi (15), Jeetan Patel (23), Matt McEwen (1) and Tom Blundell (46) to give the Knights hope after the Firebirds had looked secure in their position at 291/5.
Boult ended with 5-97, and his efforts saw Wellington reduced to 328/9.
However, hat-trick hero Hutchinson and former Knight Arnel stuck around. Arnel survived what Knights players assumed was a sure-fire caught behind early on in his innings, and when that scare subsided he looked the part, lasting two crucial hours for his 32 not out.
Likewise, after earning career-best figures with the ball, Hutchinson made a career-best with the bat as well, an unbeaten 48 as the pair set a Wellington tenth wicket record stand against ND, surpassing a mark set by Patel and Matthew Walker in 2004.
Two hours after the pair tapped gloves to start their rearguard effort, the Knights conceded, and the stumps were pulled early with a draw the end result.
The Knights take six points from the contest due to their strong first-innings performance, while the Firebirds will take two points.
The Knights now head to Mount Maunganui to host Auckland next Friday, while the Firebirds will travel to Nelson to take on the Devon Hotel Central Stags in round two.
DAY THREE
A Dane Hutchinson hat-trick helped edge the Wellington Firebirds away from dangerous territory against the SKYCITY Northern Knights.
Check out Brent Arnel having a chat to @dane_hutchinson on his memorable game which included his 5fa and hat-trick. https://t.co/kY1YTztxM1
— Wellington Firebirds (@wgtnfirebirds) October 21, 2015
Hutchinson became the first Firebirds bowler to record a Plunket Shield hat-trick since Stephen Hotter in 1997, wrapping up the Knights' tail whilst recording his first ever five-wicket bag.
The Australian-born paceman hadn’t played a Plunket Shield game since December 2012, but took the wicket of Tim Southee with the last ball of the 145th over before dismissing Mitchell Santner and Jimmy Baker at the start of the 147th over to record a rare first-class hat-trick — and halt the Knights’ impressive start to the day.
Resuming at 346/4, Bharat Popli and BJ Watling continued their partnership from yesterday, setting a Northern Districts fifth wicket record stand against all teams by adding 180 together.
Bharat Popli
However, when both fell short of their centuries in quick succession (Popli for a career-best 91, Watling for 89), the Knights' tail fell apart.
Matt McEwan takes a caught and bowled to dismiss BJ Watling
The hosts went from 420/6 to 429 all out on the Seddon Park deck, giving them a lead of 162 runs as Hutchinson ended with 5-116 from his 31.2 overs of toil.
The Firebirds then set about cutting into that deficit, putting in a much stronger effort than in their first innings, where they had at one stage found themselves at 47-5.
Although the Knights were able to pick up steady wickets, each Wellington batsman spent at least 57 minutes at the crease — time management which was crucial for their cause in stopping Northern’s chance at an outright victory.
Michael Papps (16), Luke Woodcock (44) and Craig Cachopa (23) all stuck around for significant lengths of time as the imposing Knights seam attack struggled to recreate their first innings masterclass.
The rock of the Firebirds foundation was Stephen Murdoch, though — hitting 18 boundaries in his innings of 93. However, his dismissal was the one which could be the most vital, Trent Boult skittling his stumps with the last ball of the day’s play to boost Northern’s chances of getting the all-important outright win.
Michael Pollard (20*) and Tom Blundell (0*) will resume on the final morning of play tomorrow for the Firebirds, who sit at 206/4 — holding a lead of 44 runs with six wickets remaining.
Early wickets will be crucial for the hosts, who still have to deal with first-innings century maker Luke Ronchi. The Firebirds are unlikely to be able or willing to set a chaseable target, so hard graft for wickets will be the key as the Knights aim to put themselves in a situation to chase an outright result late on Sunday afternoon.
DAY TWO
Two big partnerships put the SKYCITY Northern Knights in control of their opening contest against the Wellington Firebirds in the Plunket Shield, brought to you by Budget Rental.
The Knights ended day two at 346/4, leading by 79 runs after dismissing the Firebirds for 267 in their first innings. Their innings has been built around four half-centuries, with Daniel Flynn, Kane Williamson, Bharat Popli and BJ Watling all passing 50.
Flynn was the day’s standout, reaching his 17th Plunket Shield century with a superb 102. Northern Districts’ record holder for first-class centuries was composed during his knock, taking 239 balls and stroking 11 boundaries.
He combined with Williamson to set an excellent platform, the BLACKCAPS star batsman making 65 in his first Plunket Shield game at Seddon Park since 2009.
Their 148-run stand was halted by Jeetan Patel and started a Knights slide which saw the hosts go from 178/1 to 205/4 in the space of 15 overs.
First Williamson fell trying to clear the rope against the bowling of Patel, who then took the wicket of Daryl Mitchell — caught at short mid-wicket for six. Fellow spinner Luke Woodcock then dismissed Flynn caught and bowled to bring the match back to an intriguing balance.
However, Watling (below) and Popli joined forces to swing the contest back in the Knights’ favour, putting on an unbeaten stand of 141 to have the hosts in a dominant position at the end of play.
Popli made his third Plunket Shield fifty and sits unbeaten on 70, while Watling made his 32nd first-class half-century for the Knights to be on 69 not out at the end of play.
The duo need just a further nine runs to break the Northern Districts record for the highest fifth-wicket stand against the Firebirds — set by Kyle Wealleans and Bryan Young in 1992.
Patel was the best of the Firebirds bowlers, bowling 13 maidens to hold figures of 2-56 from 32 overs, while Woodcock (1-27) and Dane Hutchinson (1-89) have the other wickets to fall.
The Knights have already taken six batting and bowling points from the encounter, while the Firebirds have two points to their name as both teams now chase an outright victory over the weekend.
DAY ONE
Tim Southee has once again showcased his dominance at domestic level on the opening day of the 2015/2016 Plunket Shield season, brought to you by Budget Rental.
The BLACKCAPS' pace bowler was making a rare four-day appearance for the SKYCITY Northern Knights and took several key wickets on his way to 5-56.
It could have been a grim first day of the season for the Firebirds if not for an excellent innings from BLACKCAPS wicketkeeper Luke Ronchi, who blasted his sixth Plunket Shield century.
Ronchi smashed 115 off just 112 balls, finding the rope 16 times and clearing it twice as he took just 91 balls to reach his ton in a fine display of counter-attacking cricket.
Ronchi combined with Tom Blundell (53) to rescue the Firebirds from 47/5 — the duo putting on a 108-run stand before additional contributions from Jeetan Patel (34) and Matt McEwen (22) had the Firebirds sitting at 258/7.
That’s when Southee — who had already claimed the vital wickets of Michael Papps, Stephen Murdoch and Blundell — stopped the runs flowing, first dismissing the dangerous Ronchi before trapping McEwen lbw to end the Wellington innings at 267.
Southee’s five-wicket bag was his seventh for the Knights, five of which have come against the Firebirds, against whom he also brought up 50 wickets. It took him to 54 wickets in his last 11 Plunket Shield outings, at a remarkable bowling average of 14.5.
Southee was aided by last year’s breakout bowler, Jimmy Baker (2-36), with Trent Boult and Scott Kuggeleijn (1-74 and 1-69 respectively) were a tad expensive for solitary breakthroughs.
The Knights’ response was led by Daniel Flynn, who notched his 32nd fifty for this team to sit at unbeaten on 56 overnight. Flynn’s conversion rate (16 x 50s, 16 x 100s) is top class, so the Firebirds will have to get his wicket early tomorrow to stop the Knights from quickly eating away at the Wellington lead.
The Knights lost Joe Carter cheaply, bowled by Dane Hutchinson for 13; but have the daunting presence of Kane Williamson returning to the crease tomorrow morning on 20*, 94/1 at the close of play.
