STATISTICS: A summary of the statistics and milestones following the fourth round of Plunket Shield.
Joel Abraham was the only player to make his first-class debut during this round of matches playing for the Canterbury Wizards against the Northern Knights at Hamilton. Marty Kain also played his first match for the Central Stags, his only previous match having been against the Stags for the Wizards back in the 2008-09 season.
Mathew Sinclair became the first player to score 8,000 runs for one association. His aggregate for the Central Stags now stands at 8,032. Only Bert Sutcliffe has scored more runs in New Zealand domestic cricket but his 8,323 runs were scored for Auckland, Otago and Northern Districts.
Sinclair also became the first player to score eight centuries against one association when he scored 108* in the second innings against the Auckland Aces. Prior to this innings Sinclair had scored 7 centuries against both the Aces and the Volts while Bert Sutcliffe and Martin Crowe (against Canterbury) and Richard Jones (against Central Stags) had also scored 7 centuries but for more than one team. Sinclair has now scored 24 centuries for the Central Stags.
By taking his tally of runs against the Aces to 1,940 Sinclair also beat his own record for most runs for one association against another of 1,937 scored for the Stags against the Otago Volts. Only Bert Sutcliffe has scored more runs against one association but his 2,168 runs against Canterbury were scored for three different associations.
Peter Ingram scored his 17th century for the Central Stags and during the innings became just the third Stags player, after Mathew Sinclair and Tony Blain, to have passed 1,000 runs against the Auckland Aces.
The Marshall brothers, James and Hamish, combined for their third century partnership when adding 163 in the Knights second innings against the Wizards in Hamilton. Of their previous two partnerships one was for the Knights and the other in a Test match for New Zealand against Sri Lanka. Only Martin and Jeff Crowe, with seven, have shared more century partnerships among New Zealand brothers though all were made when representing New Zealand.
Peter McGlashan claimed his 11th bag of five wicketkeeping dismissals in an innings during the Canterbury Wizards first innings. This is now the most five dismissal bags by any New Zealand 'keeper. All 11 bags have been for the Knights and he has now performed the feat against each of the other associations have done so 4 times against the Firebirds, three times against the Aces, twice versus the Stags and once each against the Volts and now the Wizards.
He moves ahead of Gareth Hopkins who has performed the feat on 10 occasions, five times for the Volts, twice each for the Aces and New Zealand A and once for the Wizards. Chris Nevin acieved it 9 times for the Firebirds while Erv McSweeney (Firebirds) and Lee Germon (Wizards) both managed it on 8 occasions.
Mathew Sinclair took his 110th catch in the field for the Central Stags during Auckland's first innings and so moved past Evan Gray to have made the most catches in New Zealand domestic cricket.
The record number of catches taken in an innings by an Otago fielder is four and has now happened on 12 occasions. After claiming another bag of four in the Firebirds first innings Nathan McCullum has now been responsible on three ofthose occasions. McCullum went on to claim another two catches in the second innings to also equal the Otago record for catches in a match which he currently holds having taken six against the Central Stags in 2006-07. He now has 60 catches for the Volts and is closing in on the Otago all-time record of 65 held by Wayne Blair.
Neil Wagner claimed career best bowling figures when taking 7-96 in the Wellington Firebirds first innings. That took his tally to 24 wickets in the last 5 innings he had bowled at them including the five in one over last season. He went on to concede 202 runs in the match, only the 9th occasion a Volts bowler has conceded 200 runs in a match.
After registering ducks in his previous three innings Stephen Murdoch scored 74 in Wellington's second innings against the Volts and in the process also passed 1,000 runs for the Firebirds. Later in the innings Grant Elliott passed the 2,000 run milestone for the Firebirds.
Tim McIntosh became just the second Auckland batsman to reach 5,000 career runs when he reached 14 during the Aces first innings against the Central Stags. Only Trevor Franklin with 5,041 runs remains ahead of him.
Graham Aldridge achieved his best bowling figures when taking 6-41 in the Wizards 2nd innings. Rather surprisingly his previous best bowling figures in 17 games against Canterbury were just 2-47. He became just the third Knights bowler to pass 250 wickets and his tally of 254 leaves him behind only Cliff Dickeson (282) and Joe Yovich (255).
Matt Henry also recorded his best first-class bowling figures finishing with 5-21 in the Knights first innings. He has now claimed three 5 wicket bags in his first six matches for the Wizards.
Kieran Noema-Barnett scored his maiden first-class century when recording 107 in the Central Stags first innings against the Auckland Aces. In his previous 20 matches he had failed to register even one half-century.
Colin de Grandhomme scored his highest first-class score of 120* surpassing the 117 he scored for the Auckland Aces against the Wizards in the second of the Plunket Shield earlier in the season.
When James Franklin and Luke Woodcock joined together to add 156 in the Firebirds second innings against the Volts it was their third century partnership in four games this season. The Wellington top order has failed to fire this season so their rescue act has been welcomed by the Firebirds.
The Otago Volts had been unbeaten in their last nine games against the Wellington Firebirds, their longest unbeaten run against them. However the Firebirds ended the sequence rather emphatically with their 286 run win, their second largest against the Volts in terms of runs but well short of the 446 run winning margin achieved in 1926-27.
