Firebirds crowned champs
Wellington is the capital of Twenty20 cricket in 2020, with the Firebirds winning the men’s Super Smash and joining the Blaze, who made it three women’s titles in a row earlier yesterday.
The Firebirds held off the Auckland Aces at the Basin Reserve to claim their first title since 2016-17, putting runs on the board before steadily increasing the pressure with the ball.
Michael Bracewell and Logan van Beek scored 20 runs in the final over of the home team’s innings to take them from 148-7 to 168-7, a late flurry that proved crucial.
The Aces then lost wickets at regular intervals in pursuit of 169 and fell 23 runs short in the end, with van Beek taking three as well as a pair of brilliant catches that helped restrict the visitors to 146-9.
Craig Cachopa won the toss for the Aces and elected to chase, memories of Friday’s dramatic elimination final win over the Otago Volts fresh in his mind.
Mitchell McClenaghan struck twice inside in the power play, removing Michael Pollard for eight off five and Rachin Ravindra for 14 off 11, but Devon Conway helped the Firebirds make it to 47-2 after six overs.
Conway was the rock for the Firebirds, as he has been all season, and helped them make it to 80-2 at the halfway stage with support from Tom Blundell, who fell soon after for 25 off 21.
McClenaghan got the danger man Conway in the 14th over, with Cachopa taking a stunning diving one-handed catch at cover to send the Firebirds’ star on his way for 49 off 37 balls.
Jimmy Neesham continued to attack, but only succeeded in skying the ball off Ronnie Hira in the next over, and was caught by Martin Guptill for 22 off 13.
With five overs remaining, the Firebirds had slumped to 124-5, but they added 44 off the final five, including 20 off the last to put a dampener on McClenaghan’s efforts.
Bracewell had been scoring at less than a run a ball this season, but his unbeaten 23 off 17 was a vital knock, while van Beek added 15 off eight after Jamie Gibson and Peter Younghusband came and went cheaply.
McClenaghan finished with 3-32, having taken 3-12 in his first three.
Fog rolled in as the Aces began their chase of 169, and they lost Colin Munro inside the power play, caught behind off Hamish Bennett for nine off eight with help from the TV umpire.
They had made it to 42-1 at the end of the power play, allowing the asking rate to rise above nine runs per over, with Guptill leading the way.
Neesham removed Glenn Phillips with the first ball of the seventh over, getting him to pull one to Younghusband in the deep for seven off seven.
Mark Chapman fell cheaply, also caught by Younghusband off the bowling of Ravindra for eight off 10, and at the halfway stage, the Aces were 68-3, still needing 101. With the required run rate creeping towards 12 an over, or two runs per ball, the Aces needed something special, and Cachopa was determined to provide
it, scooping a Neesham full toss for six in the 14th over.
He fell in the next over, however, caught by Conway when driving van Beek down the ground on 25, and was followed by Robbie O’Donnell, who got an edge through to Blundell while pulling before getting off the mark. With five overs to go, the Aces needed 64 off 30 – a slightly more difficult task than the one they pulled off on Friday, when it was 60 off 30.
Guptill was playing a patient game, and brought up his half century off 45 balls, but the mountain in front of him was only getting steeper.
Ronnie Hira had been a hero for the Aces in the elimination final, but was caught behind off van Beek for three off five, and with three overs remaining, they still needed 52.
Guptill moved to 60 with six in the 18th over, bowled by Bennett, but was caught by van Beek at deep mid wicket trying to go again with the following ball, and that was it for the Aces’ hopes.