STARS ALIGN
Silver Ferns step up under pressure from Australia to clinch the Constellation Cup for just the second time
Silver Ferns 45 Australia 43
It wasn’t pretty and it wasn’t easy but the Silver Ferns have finally reclaimed the Constellation Cup. In another classic come-frombehind win over Australia in Christchurch yesterday, the Ferns claimed the four-match series 3-1, lifting the Cup for the first time in nine years and just the second time since its inception.
Ecstatic Silver Ferns captain Ameliaranne Ekenasio noted the lengthy wait.
“I’ve actually never touched the Constellation Cup — I’m so excited.”
“It has been a while, not only for this group here, but everyone before us as well. We carry so much pride with us and so much goes on behind the scenes. It takes so much more than what you see here.”
Although heading into the final hitout with a 2-1 series lead, the Ferns had little room for error, carrying a goal difference advantage of only +2 in the case of a 2-2 tie, and a dead heat on goal difference going in favour of the holders.
And their prospects didn’t look great early on as the Diamonds took control with a heavy focus on defence — particularly in the Ferns shooting circle through Courtney Bruce and Sarah Klau.
The Diamonds defensive duo made difficult work for the Ferns midcourters around the circle edge, with captain and goal attack Ekenasio left to take on the role of main ball-feeder to shooting partner Maia Wilson.
Back in the all-too-familiar catchup mode, the Ferns had plenty of work to do before the break, with their quest not helped by hesitation and miscommunication forcing several turnovers.
Shannon Saunders came on as head coach Dame Noeline Taurua’s first change of the game, as Gina Crampton headed for the bench.
Saunders was better at navigating the Diamonds defence, opening up space for Ekenasio to stay in the circle and execute a number of her signature long-range bombs.
It contributed to the Ferns scoring five of the first six goals in the second quarter as they closed in on their rivals.
Getting as close as one goal, things looked positive for the Ferns, but a swing back in the Diamonds’ favour kept the hosts at bay.
By halftime, the Ferns trailed by five and were honest in admitting a lack of control had let them down.
With a fresh approach and confidence in their track record of come-from-behind victories, the Ferns stormed back to not only level the scores but pull ahead for the first time.
Australian head coach Stacey Marinkovich responded with five positional changes, slightly disrupting the Ferns’ new-found flow before a buzzer-beater goal from Kiera Austin kept the visitors ahead by one.
As another thrilling final quarter commenced, goal-for-goal play set in.
Treasuring possession was key as Ferns centre Kimiora Poi patiently led the midcourt. Poi wasn’t afraid to look back to the transverse line and reset when things got tricky around the circle edge.
Up on her feet, Taurua shouted to her side as they desperately searched for a turnover to pull ahead.
It came in the form of a held ball against Australia, which Wilson converted to put the Ferns ahead by two and claim the match.
After an emotional team huddle, Wilson admitted there were a few tears.
“It’s such a surreal moment,” she said, “We haven’t been able to bring the Constellation Cup home in a long time, so we’re so proud of ourselves. That grind in the second half was something to be really proud of.
“We know our strength is in our unity and connections, and the longer we play, the stronger we get, and being able to pull ourselves out of that hole is what we do best.”
I’ve actually never touched the Constellation Cup — I’m so excited.
Ferns captain Ameliaranne Ekenasio
The smile that creased Martin Guptill’s face was worth the price of admission, the monthly subscription fee or the rude interruption to your Sunday long lunch — or whatever currency you choose.
After slog-sweeping Australia’s high-class leggie Adam Zampa he held the pose, lifting his head in time to watch the ball sail onto the roof of the Cake Tin, the third time he’s achieved the feat.
They’re the sort of shots you recall long after the matches are forgotten — and in reality a bilateral Twenty20 series between two old rivals is not going to feature in many future folk songs.
But it meant something more than it might have because the Black Caps, for all their achievements of late, have had a mental block when it comes to their transtasman neighbours.
Not this time though, the sevenwicket thrashing achieved with a whopping 27 balls remaining was an exclamation mark on a series affected but not ruined by lockdown. It also prevented the inevitable “choke” headlines after New Zealand let a 2-0 lead slip in the five-match series with some passive cricket in games three and four.
There would have been demons in the dressing room following Friday night’s ill-conceived chase. How could there not be? Same ground, same strip, same attack.
New Zealand opted to change things up by inserting Devon Conway into the top of the order to replace Tim Seifert, the most discombobulated of the home batsmen this series.
The move worked, with the 50 partnership coming in the sixth over, the 100 in the 12th. It featured some heads-up stroke play from Conway (36 off 28) but more importantly a veteran’s sense of what his role was at various stages of the partnership.
Guptill rode his luck early but he will feel entitled to do that having suffered from an acute lack of that commodity for most of the summer. Once he got a couple out of the screws there was nothing fortunate about his batting, particularly in that Zampa over where his nudge onto the roof was one of three long sixes.
“The other night we took a backward step but we didn’t want to back down from the fight,” man-ofthe-match Guptill said. “Devon had a really nice start, then I caught up and pushed on. The best part about it was we got a win.”
They were separated at 106 but the strength of the start meant only minor tremors when Kane Williamson was adjudged lbw to the rapid Riley Meredith first ball. Guptill went next, top-edging on 71 (46 balls), with just 19 needed at about three an over.
By that stage the ebullient Glenn Phillips was in his stride. He slaps as often as he strokes the ball but he does so really hard. One such shot nearly drilled Meredith in his follow through, while another ended the game with a six over long-on.
The comprehensive win was set up by a disciplined and well-planned bowling effort.
This match started like many of the others: with Tim Southee rapping Aaron Finch on the pads and umpire Chris Gaffaney showing something close to contempt for the bowler’s entreaties.
The umpire did get to raise his finger two overs later when Trent Boult trapped Josh Philippe dead in front. Philippe (two) had swapped places with Matthew Wade in the order — the move only worked for one of them.
Wade loves to play the archetypal Aussie hardman but looks much more effective when he’s playing the ball, not the man. His innings (44 off 29) was a delight. On a holding wicket, everything seemed to find the middle of his bat, including the flick off his pads that carried to Guptill in the outfield when he seemed set to take Australia through to a big score.
He fell to Boult, who was a rare seam-up presence in the spin-heavy attack.
The 18th over, by Ish Sodhi, was the 12th and final over of spin in the innings, a New Zealand record, and produced two full tosses that Marcus Stoinis and Ashton Agar contrived to hit into the hands of Guptill. Australia’s innings was muted. “We weren’t aggressive enough with the bat, myself [included],” Finch said. “We let them dictate slightly. We didn’t get enough runs. We kept losing wickets at regular intervals.”
It was another gettable target. This time it was got.
He was after a big challenge and Israel Adesanya certainly found it in the form of UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz. The Pole made the most of his size advantage to earn a unanimous points victory over the New Zealander in Las Vegas last night.
Blachowicz dominated the final two rounds of UFC 259’s main event with two takedowns that Adesanya, who gave up at least 10kg to his opponent, did not look like ever escaping.
The three judges scored it to Blachowicz by a wide margin; one by 49-46 and two by 49-45.
Asked afterwards if the fight went as he expected, Adesanya, the UFC middleweight champion, replied: “Not exactly — I thought I was going to win.
“Dare to be great . . . there are warriors on the sidelines but I’m the one putting it on the line.”
Adesanya retains his middleweight title but loses his perfect record in his attempt to join only five others to hold two divisional titles simultaneously. He drops to 20-1.
While he troubled Blachowicz with his movement and constant feints, and scored with low kicks and left hooks during the first three rounds in particular, he conceded: “The size might have been a factor.”
Adesanya, considered the exciting striker in the UFC, refused to rule out another shot at the light heavyweight division, but said for now, he will return to the middleweight division.
The first three rounds were close but the judges awarded only one to Adesanya, perhaps reflecting the heavier shots thrown by the cautious Pole, who began to get closer to the Kiwi in terms of range as the fight wore on.
Once he decided to go to the ground, the fight changed, however, and that extra weight was evident.
In the fourth round, Blachowicz succeeded in a takedown with three minutes left, and in the fifth, he was successful midway through.
They were enough to prove his dominance to the judges.
But rather than appear twodimensional until then as perhaps predicted, Blachowicz impressed with his striking and imagination. It was the first defence of his title.
“I thought he would be a little bit faster,” he said afterwards. “He was a little slower but he hit harder; that is something I didn’t expect.
“I knew if I took him down, I’d be better on the ground. Everyone knows he’s not that good on the ground like me.”
However, Blachowicz, who was breathing heavily in the final round, added: “A lot of respect for him because he’s a great fighter and a great person.”
On the undercard, Adesanya’s City Kickboxing teammates Kai KaraFrance beat Rogerio Bontorin via a first-round knockout, while Carlos Ulberg lost to Kennedy Nzechukwu by a second-round TKO.
Flyweight Kara-France had been dominated — he spent three minutes on his back desperately trying to avoid a submission — but in the final 20 seconds of the round, connected with three powerful right hands.
“I just had to stay calm. I’ve been in this sport for so many years now and I just wanted to show my experience,” Kara-France said.