Canterbury and defending champions the Devon Hotel Central Stags will go head to head in 1v2 Qualifying Final at Hagley Oval this Saturday, while the SBS Bank Otago Volts will host the Mondiale Auckland Aces at Queen's Park, Invercargill in the knockout 3v4 match.
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Canterbury v Devon Hotel Central Stags
SBS Bank Otago Volts v Mondiale Auckland Aces
Despite losing their unbeaten tag after a final round loss to the SKYCITY Northern Knights in Mount Maunganui yesterday, Canterbury remains in the box seat in the 2016 Ford Trophy.
Canterbury have been the frontrunners
As top qualifiers after the completion of the round robin, Canterbury earned Qualifying Final hosting rights with a round to spare — the Stags joining them after an impressive 47-run victory in a high-scoring match against the Aces secured them second spot on the table in the last round.
Canterbury will have a star batsman back with Henry Nicholls returning from the Big Bash, plus the experience of BLACKCAP Todd Astle back in the mix, while the Stags, coming off an impressive victory, will regain the option of spinner Marty Kain after recovery from a side strain.
Ladder to success for defending champions the Stags?
The winner of the 1v2 Qualifying Final will head straight to the 2016 Grand Final, with hosting rights, while the loser gets a second life, as they go on to play the winner of the 3v4 Qualifying Final in the Elimination Final on Wednesday 27 January.
A timely late charge has helped the Volts get a home 3v4 Final
The Volts secured hosting rights to this Saturday’s sudden death 3v4 Qualifying Final after a fine century from their captain Hamish Rutherford helped the Volts steamroll and eliminate the Wellington Firebirds, setting a new ground record in the process with a near-record 221-run winning margin.
The Knights and Firebirds are the two sides that will not feature in this season's Finals, after placing fifth and sixth respectively.
Points table after the completion of the round robin
The leading runscorers table after the eight rounds pre-Finals is remarkably without a Cantabrian in the mix — yet Canterbury has demonstrated it has a stellar batting line-up with a range of players able to step up and take charge at any stage of the innings, helping them win five from eight in the round robin.
When it comes to leading wicket-takers however, it' a different story with 22-year-old pace left-armer Ed Nuttall leading the way.
