CD sneak in to T20 Super playoffs
The playoff race in the T20 Super Smash has ended with a surprising late twist.
Central Districts have joined Northern Districts and Auckland in qualifying for the playoffs; sneaking in after a bumper final day of the round robin ended in a thrilling finish.
Central Districts started the day needing to beat Wellington, while hoping Canterbury lost to Northern Districts, to be assured of third place.
They had no problems with their part of the equation, making 194-6 batting first thanks to quick knocks from George Worker ( 38 from 26 balls), Jesse Ryder (52 from 35) and Tom Bruce (46 from 20).
In response, Wellington lost the influential Luke Ronchi early, and produced the worst innings of the season from import Samit Patel.
With the required run rate well over 10 an over, Patel mustered just 38 from 39 balls, wasting the strike when Devon Conway and Luke Woodcock were waiting in the wings.
When finally given a chance, Conway and Woodcock added 50 from 25 balls, but it was too late, and Wellington were eliminated from playoff contention.
That left just Canterbury, who looked set to clinch their spot after making a well-balanced 190-5, and having Northern Districts in serious strife at 55-4.
ND continued to battle, and looked a long-shot when requiring 76 from 35 balls. However, Dean Brownlie smashed four sixes in five balls, and when he fell for a superb 86 from 50 deliveries, Nick Kelly (27 from 13) and import Chris Jordan ( 22 from 10) blasted them home for an unlikely victory.
Their comeback knocked out Canterbury, and clinched top spot on the ladder. As a result, ND progress automatically through to Saturday's final, where they will play the winner of the elimination final between CD and Auckland, who finished in second on the ladder despite losing to Otago in their final round robin clash.
Remarkably, Auckland nearly managed to defend 140 on the small Eden Park Outer Oval, with Otago chasing it down with one ball and two wickets to spare.
More runs should be in store in Auckland’s next clash at Eden Park, with the elimination final held there on Wednesday afternoon.