Rain has final say in T20
It seemed fitting how wet the cricket season has been that the first domestic game in New Plymouth should be hit by rain.
Despite the Mcdonald’s Super Smash between the Central Stags and Canterbury Kings starting in good conditions, things deteriorated early in the visitors innings at Pukekura Park as they lost to a Duckworth Lewis calculation.
Earlier, fringe international Doug Bracewell, who has been in and out of the Black Caps squad in recent seasons, appeared keen to Young(33) and the returning George Worker (36), the pair putting on 73 for the second wicket after opener Ben Smith failed to see a second ball from former Australian international Ben Hilfenhaus after he edged his first through to keeper Jeremy Benton.
Hilfenhaus was comfortably Canterbury’s most potent bowler as he had the batsmen feeling for the ball early while also beating a number for pace off a pitch that appeared to have a decent amount of pace to it.
He was the exception for the most part as the rest of the men used offered up too many balls the Stags batsmen could hit through on the pint sized ground.
Their ground fielding was also mixed, although they took some tidy catches.
Canterbury’s run chase then got off to a flyer with Chad Bowes taking 14 off Seth Rance in over No 1 before he was out not long after after he edged a ripper of a ball from the sharp Ben Wheeler.
When veteran Peter Fulton and Ken Mcclure were out cheaply the visitors were 33-3 and struggling.
Captain Andew Ellis and Cam Fletcher then steadied things before the players left the field because of rain with Canterbury at 61-3 from 7.3 overs.
While they got back for a brief time, another eight balls, the rain returned.