STATISTICS: Milestones and statistics from the second round of HRV Cup.
We're now into the seventh season of the New Zealand domestic Twenty20 competition and in all the matches to date the top scorer, not surprisingly, has come from the winning team almost 70% of the time. However during this latest round the highest score was amassed by a batsman in the losing team in all three matches. On Boxing Day Brad Wilson was top score but the Northern Knights were on the losing end, while the following day Neil Broom (Otago Volts) and Harry Boam (Wellington Firebirds) were the highest scorers in their matches but again were both in the losing team.
Neil Broom's innings of 77 was a career best and is the highest for the Volts against the Wizards beating the 76 not out by Nathan McCullum at University Oval in 2008-09.
The Canterbury Wizards' total of 198 for 7 against the Otago Volts is the highest team total without a batsman scoring a half-century. New Zealand scored 190 against India in the 2007 T20 World Cup while the previous highest in New Zealand domestic matches was 188 for 7 by the Northern Knights against the Auckland Aces in the 2007-08 season.
The fourteen sixes hit by the Wizards at Timaru has been equalled only once, by the Central Stags against the Aces at New Plymouth in 2009-10 and beaten only by the sixteen smashed by the Aces against the Stags at the same venue
two seasons earlier.
Only on ten previous occasions have bowlers in a two over analysis conceded 30 or more runs in a match but both Ian Butler and Aaron Redmond were on the receiving end of some lusty hitting by Dean Brownlie and Andrew Ellis
conceding 34 and 31 runs respectively off their two overs at Timaru.
Matt Henry became only the second Wizards bowler to claim four wickets in an innings and was twice sitting on a hat-trick. In his first over he broke the dangerous opening partnership, dismissing Brendan McCullum and Aaron Redmond in successive balls. Then in his last over, the 18th of the innings, he ended the destructive fifth wicket partnership, dismissing both the set batsmen, Neil Broom and Jimmy Neesham, to bring Canterbury back into a game that had looked to be Otago's for the taking.
During his innings of 31 for the Central Stags against the Wellington Firebirds, Jamie How became the first batsman to pass 1,000 runs in New Zealand domestic T20 matches. He now has 1,019 runs, followed by his Stags team-mates Ross Taylor (960) and Mathew Sinclair (904) with Rob Nicol (900) the only other player with 900 runs.
Grant Elliott scored one of three ducks in the Wellington Firebirds innings. The eight balls it took for him to be dismissed has been surpassed only once. Iain Robertson lasted nine balls for the Canterbury Wizards against the Auckland Aces at QEII Park in the 2006-07 season before being being dismissed for a duck.
For the secong match in a row Brad Wilson and BJ Watling extended the Northern Knights first wicket record by two runs, this time adding 65 against the Auckland Aces at Colin Maiden Park.
Harry Boam's innings of 47 was a career best while Anton Devcich improved his best bowling figures for the second successive match, finishing with 2-21. Luke Woodcock figures of 3-20 were also a career best. It was the sixth occasion he has taken three wickets in an innings.
