Two teams are still in with a chance to take home the coveted Plunket Shield this season. With only eight points separating the Northern Knights and Canterbury Wizards, the final round starting on Monday is set to be a nail biter.
The Plunket Shield has a rich history and both teams are keen to get their hands on the trophy which was the pinnacle of domestic cricket in New Zealand for almost 70 years.
After dominating the competition all year, the Northern Knights come into the final round eight points clear on 44 points. Whilst the Knights looked uncatchable for much of the season, a late charge by the Wizards has kept them in with a chance of overtaking the Northerners at the crucial moment.
The Knights face the Central Stags in Napier next week, while the Wizards are in Auckland against the Aces.
Knights on the verge
The Knights will be looking at securing the silverware with an outright win, but first innings points would be enough to shut out the Wizards. The Wizards must hope the Knights take no points from their game, and gain an outright win themselves to have a chance of winning the Plunket Shield on net run rate.
Grant Bradburn, the Knights’ coach, said the team has put last week’s draw with the Volts behind them and are looking forward to the challenges the final round brings.
“We didn’t play well enough to bowl the Volts out and we definitely missed Brent Arnel, our strike bowler. We are looking to regroup and just pull together to make up for Brent - he does leave a big hole,” he said. “We are just focusing on the processes that have worked for us and approaching the game in a positive manner. We’ve played some really good cricket during the summer.”
The Knights have turned the disappointment of the last game into a positive. Morale is running high in the camp, especially at the chance of claiming two trophies in one season. “It has been a huge campaign, but we’ve worked really hard on our fitness and all the guys are injury free. The energy levels are high and the boys are running on adrenaline because they are excited about the prospect of taking another title this season" says Bradburn.
Outside chance for the Wizards
The Wizards have made a vast improvement this season compared to last year’s four day competition, in which they came last. The 2009/10 season has seen the Wizards make it to the semi finals of the one-day competition and they now have a chance to claim the Plunket Shield. “We didn’t do well in the Twenty20 competition this year, but we did do well in the One-Dayers. The Plunket Shield has been a good competition and obviously the four day game is the closest thing to Test cricket,” Wizards coach Bob Carter said.
The Wizards have come off a hard fought victory against the Wellington Firebirds in the last round and are hoping to continue their good form against the Aces. Carter is thrilled to be in a position to claim the silverware.
“We are looking forward to the challenge and opportunity. We’ve still got an outside chance to win the title,” he said. “We’ve picked a good balanced team.”
The Wizards opponents, the Auckland Aces, have also come off a last round win. Carter says the Aces will want to end their season on a positive note, but the Wizards will play hard to ensure that doesn’t happen.
“Anything is possible. The last round of games worked out perfectly and we were able to get full points whilst Northern tripped up. We can only do what we can do and our focus is ‘what will be will be’,” he said. “At the end of the day we’ll do our best.”
Plunket shield round 10
Monday 29 March - Thursday 1 April
Auckland Aces vs Canterbury Wizards
Colin Maiden Park, Auckland
Central Stags vs Northern Knights
McLean Park, Napier
Wellington Firebirds vs Otago Volts
Allied Nationwide Finance, Basin Reserve, Wellington
