Firebirds celebrate T20 milestone
Luke Woodcock hadn’t quite given up believing that Wellington might be a good team one day.
‘‘But some days you wonder. The side and the players have been there, and it’s just been about trying to connect that all together,’’ Woodcock said.
They’re awfully close to that now, after beating the defending champion Auckland Aces by 23 runs yesterday to qualify for their first domestic Twenty20 final.
It was, in many ways, a comprehensive drubbing that the Firebirds dished out at the Basin Reserve to earn themselves a shot at their first silverware since the summer of 2003-04.
Otago are the team that stand in their way, at a sold-out University Oval in Dunedin tomorrow.
‘‘It’s an awesome, awesome feeling for the guys, but we’ve still got one game to go,’’ said Woodcock, who took a crucial 2-23 as Auckland were restricted to 159 for 8, chasing 183 to win.
Success hasn’t just been hardwon for the Firebirds over the past few seasons – it’s been nonexistent.
So it was interesting to see the way the players greeted their progression through to the final. There were smiles and some obvious satisfaction, but nothing over the top or anything that would lead you to believe they played their final yesterday.
Woodcock is clearly not the only one who knows that there’s nothing to truly celebrate just yet.
The Firebirds have lost both of this season’s encounters with Otago, but did enough yesterday to be going into tomorrow’s clash with genuine confidence.
Jesse Ryder again provided the necessary momentum, taking apart Auckland’s bowlers in the early overs.
Ryder was caught on the square leg fence off the last ball of the fourth over but, even in that time, he’d still managed to make 46 from 17 deliveries.
There can be a touch of agricul- ture about Ryder’s Twenty20 batting, but there was none of that yesterday. It was pure class.
Michael Papps kept the momentum going with 70 not out off 48 balls, before Luke Ronchi (21 from 11) pushed the Firebirds through to a thoroughly defendable score of 182 for 4.
Import Cameron Borgas steadied things after Ryder and fellow opener Ben Orton departed, but his innings of 29 from 33 balls remained a disappointment.
Whether he will be retained for the final remains to be seen. Firebirds coach Jamie Siddons said there could be ‘‘one or two changes’’ but would not elaborate.
Jeetan Patel was too jaded, after flying home from South Africa, to play yesterday, while Orton had a back problem and did not field. As for new imports, Cricket Wellington chief executive Peter Clinton said he had left everything in Siddons’ hands and had no idea if more Australians were coming.
Whoever plays tomorrow, their catching and ground fielding will need to be better than what was on display yesterday. The bowling, other than Theo Doropoulos, couldn’t be faulted.
Aside from the impressive Woodcock, who went a long way to securing victory when he bowled Aces import Aaron Finch, Scott Kuggeleijn (1-20 off three) was the other Firebird whose bowling rose to the occasion.