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Central Districts and Canterbury have fought off a close Plunket Shield match in Napier with the game ending in a draw as a result of rain.
Canterbury XI: Chad Bowes, Matt Boyle, Henry Nicholls, Cole McConchie ©, Mitch Hay (WK), Michael Rippon, Zak Foulkes, Angus McKenzie, Sean Davey, Fraser Sheat, Will O’Rourke
Central Districts XI: Jack Boyle, Curtis Heaphy, Greg Hay ©, Brad Schmulian, Dane Cleaver, Josh Clarkson, Doug Bracewell, Brett Randell, Ajaz Patel, Blair Tickner, Ray Toole
Chad Bowes and Matt Boyle opened for Canterbury, but Bowes fell early for 6 (17) being bowled by an inswinger by Brett Randell.
Blackcap Henry Nicholls joined Boyle at the crease and they supported each other well throughout. Boundaries were found off multiple different bowlers, Boyle sending the ball to the fence 8 times and Nicholls twice. 50 runs between them were made in 63 balls, Boyle the main scorer in the partnership.
He departed for 54 (88), falling LBW to Doug Bracewell. Nicholls then found himself joining Boyle back in the sheds only four runs later as Canterbury fell to 98/3.
The wickets of both Nicholls and Boyle, triggered a collapse before the lunch break as Mitch Hay 0 (6) and Michael Rippon 0 (9) both fell to Randell. Going into lunch five down, the visitors were going to need to find some lower order runs to put a solid score on the board.
Cole McConchie and Zak Foulkes strode out to the middle following the break and saw off the first 9 overs after lunch with Tickner grabbing the Canterbury captain for 8 (45).
Angus McKenzie didn’t last long either as has caught by 12th man Will Clark off Tickner’s bowling, Canterbury now sitting in a bad position at 124/7.
Sean Davey and Foulkes combined for a superb partnership for eighth wicket and got Canterbury back into the game whilst also adding some vital runs on the board.
They added 53 runs in around 18 overs with the runs split relatively evenly between the pair. Foulkes contributed 26 and Davey 22. Whilst there were only three boundaries in the knock, they did run well and tended to find fielders in the outfield.
Like the ball before lunch, Canterbury also lost a wicket on the ball before tea with Davey being caught behind by Cleaver off Patel’s bowling for 22 (61).
Fraser Sheat and Foulkes came out to the middle, but the only lasted three balls together as Tickner got the big wicket of Foulkes who had been edging closer to 50.
Will O’Rourke and Sheat then worked well together for the last week, getting Canterbury the all important batting bonus point passing 200 runs in the 75th over. They added a further 25 runs in the next five overs before O’Rourke was caught in the deep by Tickner as he looked to play a big shot off Schmulian.
Canterbury were dismissed for 225 runs in 80 overs, Boyle making the top score with 54 runs and Foulkes making 44. Randell was the star with the ball taking 4-25 and Tickner took 3-38.
Central saw off the remaining 14 overs of the day with Curtis Heaphy making 8 (43) and Jack Boyle 2 (41) to leave the home side on 16/0.
Boyle and Heaphy saw off the first few overs the day, before Boyle was caught and bowled by McKenzie for 21 (76).
Captain Greg Hay, who was playing his 100th match for the Stags then soon found himself also back in the pavilion for a 21 ball duck as McKenzie took his second caught and bowled, the Stags sitting at 51/2 after 31.5 overs
Brad Schmulian only lasted 4 balls, with O’Rourke getting him to edge behind to wicketkeeper Mitch Hay.
Heapy was joined by Dane Cleaver and they added some crucial middle order runs to get the Stags out of a hole. Heaphy did however fall when it looked like he might be pushing on for a big knock, with Foulkes picking up his wicket for 30 (129).
Josh Clarkson came and joined Cleaver, with Clarkson upping the strike rate a bit as he made 17 (27) and having gone a lot faster than the rest of his teammates in terms of strike rate. His dismissal came as he looked to play a big shot off McKenzie but instead edged to Nicholls at slip.
Cleaver then fell the next over for 34 (68), O’Rourke picking up his second wicket and Nicholls grabbed another catch at slip. Doug Bracewell and Brett Randell were the new pair at the crease, but Bracewell soon too found himself walking off for 7 (10) as he was caught at slip by Boyle off O’Rourke’s bowling.
Randell lasted 17 balls and added two more runs to the board before he was caught by Dylan Hunter off Sean Davey. Ajaz Patel then added a few quick runs at the bottom of the order before he fell to a caught and bowled by Rippon.
Ray Toole and Tickner could only add 14 runs for the last wicket and Central found themselves all out for 177 in 73.1 overs. Cleaver was their best batter making 34 runs while O’Rourke and McKenzie both took three wickets each.
Like the first innings, Bowes was the first wicket to fall for Canterbury, edging behind to Cleaver for 9 off Tickner’s bowling. Boyle and Nicholls then established a quality second wicket stand, adding 54 runs in 16 overs before Boyle was caught behind for a quickfire 41 (47).
McConchie couldn’t really trouble the score as he was out for 7, caught and bowled by Clarkson. Nicholls soon found himself back in the sheds for 30, with Toole grabbing his second of the innings.
Hay and Rippon worked well together for the fifth wicket adding 80 runs for it. They did also have their partnership interrupted late on Day Two as the fire alarm had gone off at McLean Park and had to be sorted out.
Hay lasted a further 12 overs the next day before he was out to Patel for 39 (66). Rippon added a few more runs but fell three short of his fifty, out for 47, Toole having a third wicket in the innings.
Foulkes and McKenzie both worked really well with the bat in the second innings for the visitors with McKenzie getting his highest first class score as well.
Their partnership allowed Canterbury to put one hand on control of the game and also got them some vital lower order runs.
Foulkes finished on 50 (68) when he fell in the 74th over, having made his second first class fifty for Canterbury. McKenzie lasted four more overs, making a maiden fifty and also a highest first class score of 53.
Davey 15 (20) and Sheat 19* (12) added a few more runs to the score, with O’Rourke getting out for a golden duck.
Canterbury finished on 320 from 81 overs, with McKenzie being the top scorer and Toole taking 6 wickets for the home side, his third five wicket haul.
Central went into the final innings needing 369 runs for victory. They didn’t get off to a good start as Heaphy was gone inside three overs for 2 (12).
Boyle and Hay then got to work, knuckling down and adding some runs to the scoreboard in the process. They added 63 for the second wicket before Hay edged behind off Sheat’s bowling for 35 (58).
Schmulian only lasted 14 balls whilst adding five runs, Canterbury getting Central into a difficult position at 87/3.
Boyle batted well with Cleaver as the pair combined for 64 runs for the fourth wicket, Boyle adding 28 and Cleaver 17 in the 50 runs stand.
Boyle did fall near the end of the third day for 72 (139) and the Stags losing the majority of their recognised batters. Nightwatchman Patel and Cleaver saw through the rest of the day.
Patel fell early on the final day, the Stags at 158/5 and then 167/6 when Clarkson was caught by Nicholls off O’Rourke’s bowling.
Bracewell, who had suffered an injury and Cleaver got the Stags right back into the game and also in a position where they could possibly win from.
They added 75 runs for the 7 wicket, Bracewell the more dominant batter throughout it.
When Cleaver fell for 60 (112), Canterbury would’ve thought they were edging very close to a victory and this would have been made even more likely to them when Randell fell for 4 (11).
In a cruel finish, rain washed out the rest of the day and a result was not possible, the captains shaking hands at 5:19pm.
There were three major contributions for the Central side with Boyle making 72, Cleaver 60 and Bracewell 59*. O’Rourke took three wickets and Sheat two.
The two teams now prepare themselves for the Ford Trophy competition starting next weekend.
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