A rained-off abandonment in a top-of-the-table clash at Hagley Oval was all it took today for undefeated Canterbury to book themselves into Saturday's Ford Trophy Qualifying Finals as top qualifier — with a round to spare.
Canterbury will head into this Wednesday's round eight unbeaten, an unassailable 27 points securing them a home 1 versus 2 Qualifying Final on the weekend — the winner of which will proceed direct to the 30 January Grand Final.
With only 18.3 overs having been possible on a drizzly, ran-delayed Christchurch in their match this afternoon, opponents the Devon Hotel Central Stags, who remain second on the table, now head to Eden Park Outer Oval this Wednesday for what will effectively be a playoff for the second qualifying spot with the Mondiale Auckland Aces, after the Aces took a bonus point in their seven-wicket win over the Wellington Firebirds at the Basin Reserve this afternoon.
Meanwhile, in Dunedin the SBS Bank Otago Volts continued their late charge, hurling themselves up into fourth spot on the table with an emphatic eight-wicket win over the SKYCITY Northern Knights.
The final round before Finals this Wednesday will be contested in Auckland (Aces v Stags), Mount Maunganui (Knights v Canterbury) and Invercargill (Volts v Firebirds).
The top four teams will then progress to Saturday's Qualifying Finals (1 v 2 and 3 v 4), while the bottom two teams will be eliminated. The loser of 1 v 2 will then play the winner of 3 v 4 on 27 January to determine the other 2016 Ford Trophy Grand Finalist.
As well as needing Canterbury to stop the Knights from taking a bonus point win (worth five points), the Firebirds will need to win with a bonus point in Invercargill to stay alive.
Today's round seven results in detail
Canterbury v Devon Hotel Central Stags was abandoned at Hagley Oval, Christchurch
Drizzle cut short a match that was a notable statistical double for two senior Canterbury statesmen: captain Andy Ellis (100th List A game overall) and Peter Fulton (100th List A game for Canterbury). The game got underway briefly after lunch, Ellis unsurprisingly electing to bowl in the cool, misty conditions. Regular breakthroughs set against the Stags' urgency to put runs on the board in light of a possible Duckworth Lewis Stern calculation saw the aggressive Stags hurtle to 110/4 before the match was called off in the 19th over, each side claiming two points from the abandonment.
Scorecard
SBS Bank Otago Volts beat the SKYCITY Northern Knights by eight wickets at University Oval, Dunedin
The Volts relished their first match of the season at their Dunedin HQ with an impressive win against the Knights, routing them for a modest 181 in 46.1 overs on a nippy surface. But the Volts' batsmen had no such problems, cantering past the target with more then 22 overs to spare to pick up a much-needed bonus point, Michael Bracewell (returning at last to run-scoring mode with a boundary-strewn 60) and form anchorman Neil Broom (69* from 76) cementing the chase. Earlier, Sam Wells shone 3-25 off his 10 for the Volts, and Jacob Duffy picked up three for 39. To rub salt into the wound, the win saw the Volts leapfrog the Knights into fourth place, and victory against Wellington in Invercargill on Wednesday will guarantee them a playoff berth. The bad news for the Volts was left-armer Bradley Scott limping off after four overs with a hamstring complaint: Scott will miss the final round-robin match, but the Volts may be strengthened by the return of Nathan McCullum pending a fitness test this Monday.
Scorecard
Wellington Firebirds lost to the Mondiale Auckland Aces by seven wickets at the Basin Reserve
As four seasons in one day and wisps from a rolling seafog substantial enough to close Wellington Airport skimmed across the ground, the Aces easily chased down 200 to clinch victory over their hosts with 11 overs to spare. The chase was fortified by opener and run machine Brad Cachopa's 85, putting on 142 for the first wicket with Michaell Guptill-Bunce (66). In the first innings, Colin de Grandhomme took a career best 4-37 to help restrict the Firebirds to 199, despite a half century from opener Michael Pollard (who top-scored with 51) and a stubborn, ninth-wicket record stand for the Firebirds against the Aces between Luke Woodcock (47) and pace bowler Dane Hutchinson (a career best 35 off 43). Aces quick bowler Lockie Ferguson, returning from a back niggle that kept him out of the previous round, contributed 3-46, crucially stopping both Woodcock and Hutchinson in their stride.
Scorecard
Round eight, the last of the Ford Trophy round robin, takes place this Wednesday 20 January.
The Mondiale Auckland Aces host the Devon Hotel Central Stags at Eden Park Outer Oval, Auckland. The SKYCITY Northern Knights host Canterbury at Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui and the Wellington Firebirds travel to Queen's Park, Invercargill to face off against the SBS Bank Otago Volts.
All matches start at 11am and are livescored at blackcaps.co.nz
