Peter Hoare
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27th Match: Northern Districts v Auckland at Hamilton, 22 Jan 2002 Peter Hoare |
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Auckland innings:
Pre-game: Northern Districts innings: |
ND will take a bonus point if they restrict Auckland to 212 or less. It would ensure that ND finish at least second in the table, barring a Canterbury victory of extraordinary proportions when the two teams meet in Timaru on Friday.
Young and Horsley both had escapes at the hands of the third umpire, with decisions that were probably, but not conclusively, out going in their favour.
Young's referral was for a run out at the bowler's end as he attempted to scramble a bye. One frame showed the batsman short of the crease, the ball touching the stumps, but the bail in place. The next frame showed the bail in the air, but the batsman home.
Horsley may have been caught at mid-off by a sprawling Yovich. The fielder claimed the catch and the batsman seemed prepared to take his word until umpire Doug Cowie made the referral. Some, but not all, angles showed a clean catch, but majority verdicts are apparently not permissable.
Young was run out, without the need for confirmation. He was well short, having rightly been sent back when attempting a suicidal third run. The fielder, racing to the boundary before turning and throwing, was again Yovich, who is involved in everything that happens in this innings. Young and Horsley put on 57 for the fifth wicket.
Tama Canning could not add much to his fine performance with the ball earlier. He was three when he chipped an easy catch to James Marshall at mid-off off the bowling of Matthew Hart.
Hart also removed Brooke Walker, caught by Hamish Marshall at mid-wicket for four.
Slow left-armer Hart (6-1-13-2) bowled in combination with off spinner Bradburn (9-0-24-0), both models of economy and accuracy and both achieving considerable turn.
Nick Horsley is still there, 49 not out, but had become becalmed after a bright start.
Westpac Trust Park's new lights have now taken full effect and are living up to their pre-match billing of being the best in New Zealand.
Yovich struck the first blow for ND, from the first ball of the second over. Llorne Howell attempted to pull a ball that was outside off stump. Robbie Hart raced from behind the stumps, diving to catch the top edge. Howell scored one.
The catch was bettered by Yovich himself, who dived full length at third man to catch another top edge, this time from Matt Horne off Tuffey. The batsman thought that he had been reprieved when third umpire Peter Wright pressed the wrong button, showing a green light when a red was intended. The dangerous Horne had scored eight.
New batsman Richard Pudney lasted for a three-ball duck. An ineffectual push down the legside took the inside edge, giving an easy catch to Robbie Hart again off Yovich.
Tim McIntosh reached ten before falling to another mistimed pull, giving the easiest catch so far to Aldridge at mid-on. At 25/4 in the eighth over it was possible that the game would be over before Hamilton's much-vaunted new lights were needed.
Yovich finished his first spell with figures of 6-1-19-3. He presented the batsmen with the problem of pace combined with an intelligent line. They responded poorly, playing the wrong shots to the wrong balls.
Nick Horsley and Reece Young steadied things with an unbroken fifth-wicket partnership of 39. Horsley played a series of attractive shots including one pull that was given as a four even though the ball landed four metres or so over the boundary.
ND will aim to dismiss Auckland for less than 213, to claim a bonus point. A growing crowd is enjoying the superiority of the home team.
In superb batting conditions Auckland's policy of selecting only five regular bowlers looked mistaken. Skipper Brooke Walker had little scope to depart from the template for bowling changes, even thoiugh both he and left-arm seamer Richard Morgan both lacked control and accuracy.
All but two of overs 20 to 40 were bowled by the spinners. Mark Haslam bowled tidily, finishing with 10-0-45-0. He was unlikely not to have Matthew Hart given lbw off the last ball of his spell.
Walker finished with 10-0-62-3, taking the wicket of Bradburn in his final over. The batsmen was drawn forward and off balance, giving Young a straight-forward stumping. He scored 28 from 27 balls including two fours and a six.
In the 41st over Walker belatedly turned to Matt Horne's occasional seam up, which produced immediate results. Jaden Hatwell was trapped lbw for two.
Hatwell suffered the indignity of being given out simultaneously by both umpires. He advanced down the pitch during the appeal, was sent back by Matthew Hart, but failed to beat the throw.
At 204/6 the chase for quick runs in the closing overs was likely to be hampered by the need to protect the tail. Robbie Hart joined his elder brother in a partnership that accumulated rather than hit out.
An injury to Chris Drum in the 45th over threatened to transform the closing stages of the ND innings. In following through to attempt a run out, Drum collided with Robbie Hart and twisted his ankle. With 2.3 overs of his spell still to bowl, Auckland's five-bowler policy had left them exposed.
The remaining three balls of the over were bowled by Matt Horne. The result was six, six and four by Matthew Hart, all to the mid-wicket boundary.
However, quick wickets meant that ND failed to make the best of Drum's unexpected absence.
Matthew Hart was bowled by Canning in the over after his onslaught against Horne. Hart's 78 came off 85 balls and included six fours and three sixes. It was a well paced innings which made the most of scoring opportunities and without which ND would have been struggling to make an acceptable score.
Robbie Hart edged stand-in bowler Horne to keeper Reece Young for 17. Young took a very sharp legside catch to dismiss Tuffey in Canning's next over.
Canning was Auckland's best bowler by a long way. He finished with 10-1-39-4, the only bowler to maintain a good level of accuracy throughout his spell.
A fair-sized crowd is expected to grow before the start of the Auckland reply. The Westpac Trust Park lights will be officially turned on in a ceremony that will take place shortly.
James Marshall was bowled by Canning for 38 in the 19th over. The ball went via inside edge and pad to hit the off stump. Marshall's innings lasted 54 balls and included five fours and a six.
Canning was the only Auckland bowler to exercise control in the early stage of the innings, with a spell of 6-1-18-2.
By the 21st over there was spin from both ends. Slow left-armer Mark Haslam bowled in tandem with leg-spinner Brooke Walker. Parlane hit both bowlers for straight fours in their first overs.
In his second over, Walker removed Parlane. A leading edge was superbly caught by McIntosh, diving full length at mid-wicket. Parlane scored 26 in 41 balls including three fours and a six. He provided the power that has been lacking from the ND middle order, but did not stay long enough to have a significant impact on the game.
At 113/3 and two new batsmen at the crease ND had to rebuild. Matthew Hart started uncertainly but chose the right deliveries to hit, including a straight six off Walker.
The Auckland captain was bowling a fair quota of hittable deliveries, but claimed the wicket of Hamish Marshall, who offered a simple caught and bowled after failing to get to the pitch of the ball as he came down the wicket.
Grant Bradburn made a positive start by driving Walker over the sightscreen.
The four partnerships so far have been worth 58, 41, 14 and 46. Batsmen got out when set, the momentum of the innings suffering constant disruption as the men coming in took time to establish themselves.
ND's run rate of just under five is satisfactory at this stage, but a big partnership is needed if they are to go on to a score that will challenge Auckland. In perfect batting conditions they should be aiming at something not far short of 300.
Once more, effective hitting from Simon Doull got ND off to a rapid start. Doull led a charmed life early on. Two mistimed shots went almost as high as Westpac Trust Park's new floodlights, only to fall between fielders. Though he was not timing the ball quite as well he has recently, the boundaries inevitably came.
James Marshall also had a life, Reece Young putting down a chance behind the stumps off Morgan that was as simple as they come. The bowler's mood was not improved when Marshall top-edged a six over the slips later in the same over.
There was no luck about Marshall's next boundary, a cracking cover drive down on one knee. A similar shot in Drum's next over was almost as good, and brought up ND's first fifty partnership of the season for the first wicket.
Both batsmen took advantage of some wayward bowling, in particular from Morgan whose first four overs went for 28.
He was replaced from the City End by Canning. Doull responded by pulling him over the mid-wicket boundary for six, but was out next ball. Walker could have gone shopping in the time he had to wait under the ball at square leg. Doull scored 31 in 29 balls.
Michael Parlane came in at No. 3 for his first appearance of the season. He survived a close lbw appeal off Canning early on, and took 12 deliveries to get off the mark before he crashed a four through the covers off Morgan, who had transferred to the Members' End. A second followed in the same over, then an effortless off-driven six in Morgan's next over.
ND have made their best start of the season, but will need to push on well on an excellent batting track. A score of 250-plus will be the aim to provide a good target for Auckland to chase under the lights.
Today's State Shield fixture between ND and Auckland is the first day/night match to be staged at Westpac Trust Park. The ground's four floodlight towers - supplying what is thought to be the most powerful stadium lighting in New Zealand - are part of an ambitious programme to establish it as one of the country's leading venues for international cricket.
They will be used again for the opening fixture of England's tour in February, and for New Zealand's first four-day match under lights, against Central Districts at the end of next month.
With two rounds left in the league stage of the State Shield, the lights have gone out on Auckland's chances of making the knock-out stage. Even two bonus-point wins would still leave them depending on Canterbury losing both, and Otago one, of their final two matches.
ND's passage to the later stages of the competition has already been secured, but a win today is still important to maintain their challenge to Wellington at the top of the table and to keep ahead of Canterbury in third.
The league winners host the final, while second will be at home to third in the sole semi-final.
ND have progressed despite a fragile top order, overly dependent on Simon Doull to pinch-hit the innings into life. Five half-centuries have been scored by ND batsmen in the State Shield this season. Auckland's Matt Horne alone has scored six.
Grant Robinson (16 runs in three innings) gives way to the experienced Michael Parlane, who makes his first appearance of the season for ND.
Among the bowlers, it is a different story. Brooke Walker is the most economical member of today's Auckland attack, having conceded 4.42 runs per over in this season's competition. This figure is bettered by all six ND bowlers on duty here.
For Auckland Richard Pudney makes his one-day debut in place of the injured Aaron Barnes.
The match will be played on the true, pacey pitch that was used for the abandoned game against Otago two days ago.
It is a fine, clear day in Hamilton, where a large crowd is expected this evening.
The teams:
Northern Districts
James Marshall, Simon Doull, Michael Parlane, Matthew Hart, Hamish Marshall, Grant Bradburn, Jaden Hatwell, Robbie Hart (captain/wicket-keeper), Joseph Yovich, Daryl Tuffey, Graeme Aldridge. Ian Butler is 12th man.
Auckland
Matt Horne, Llorne Howell, Richard Pudney, Tim McIntosh, Nick Horsley, Brooke Walker (captain), Tama Canning, Reece Young (wicket-keeper), Richard Morgan, Chris Drum, Mark Haslam. Gareth Shaw is 12th man.
© CricInfo
Date-stamped : 22 Jan2002 - 22:45