Fletcher stars in Wellington win
A final-over thriller, a dream debut and runs aplenty highlighted the opening day of the Ford Trophy as Auckland, Wellington and Central Districts all made winning starts to the season yesterday.
Wellington v Canterbury at the Basin Reserve
Opener Andrew Fletcher celebrated his List A debut with an unbeaten maiden first-class century to lead Wellington to a comfortable seven-wicket victory.
Set 287 to win, Fletcher finished with a superb 132 not out, decimating the Canterbury attack with 15 boundaries and a six.
It was a day of milestones for Wellington as wicketkeeper Lauchie Johns set a New Zealand List A record of seven catches in an innings, just one shy of the world record.
Fletcher was the last player added to Wellington’s contract list in June and he made the most of his opportunity yesterday.
The 25-year-old faced 155 balls at the crease, combining with fellow opener Malcolm Nofal (50) and Devon Conway (58) to enable Wellington to reach the target with almost three overs to spare.
Ollie Newton and Hamish Bennett had three wickets apiece for Wellington, the latter claiming the key wicket of Cole McConchie for 90 in the 41st over.
Canterbury 286 (Cole McConchie 90, Henry Nicholls 62, Cameron Fletcher 33; Ollie Newton 3-37, Hamish Bennett 3-63, Peter Younghusband 2-55) lost to Wellington 288-3 off 47.1 overs (Andrew Fletcher 132*, Devon Conway 58, Malcolm Nofal 50).
Auckland v ND at Eden Park Outer Oval
A sensational unbeaten century from Auckland opener Sean Solia overshadowed Trent Boult’s Ford Trophy return as the defending champions pulled off a dramatic fightback.
Solia carried his bat with an expertly crafted 133 off 138 balls, holding the Auckland innings together to chase down Northern Districts’ target of 269 with two wickets and two deliveries to spare.
Despite strong contributions from Brett Hampton (79 not out) and Daryl Mitchell (66), Northern always seemed a little short when they were bowled out in the 46th over.
That was until Boult got his hands on the ball.
Playing his first one-day match for ND in more than four years, the Black Caps seamer took consecutive wickets in the first over to leave the Aces on the back foot. Boult took only one more wicket, though, to finish with 3-61.
And while Auckland continued to lose batsmen at regular intervals, Solia managed to get enough help from Craig Cachopa (26), Robbie O’Donnell (25) and Will Somerville (25) to keep them in the contest.
The 25-year-old did the rest, smashing 16 fours and a six while showing a cool head under pressure before Danru Ferns hit the winning runs.
Northern Districts 268 (Brett Hampton 79*, Daryl Mitchell 66; Mitchell McClenaghan 3-57, Danru Ferns 2-44, Will Somerville 2-45) lost to Auckland 271-8 off 49.4 overs (Sean Solia 133*; Trent Boult 3-61, Brett Randell 2-53).
Central Districts v Otago at Saxton Oval, Nelson
A mammoth opening partnership between Ben Smith and Greg Hay laid the platform for Central Districts’ 37-run victory over Otago.
Smith (93) and Hay (82) set the tone with a 167-run stand in Nelson as Central made 269-7 after being sent into bat.
Otago’s response featured a number of starts. However, other than Josh Finnie’s 63, no one managed to kick on before a lower-order collapse saw them dismissed for 232 in the 45th over.
Smith and Hay’s effort set a new first-wicket record for Central against Otago, eclipsing the 155 made by Jesse Ryder and Craig Spearman in 2002/03.
Central Districts 269-7 (Ben Smith 93, Greg Hay 82; Nathan Smith 2-44, Michael Rippon 2-53, Matthew Bacon 2-56) beat Otago 232 off 44.5 overs (Josh Finnie 63, Neil Broom 35, Anaru Kitchen 32; Ryan McCone 3-34, Willem Luddick 2-41, Bevan Small 2-42).