Bearded duo lead Knights to riches
Let’s call it The Beard Final.
The magnificently facially hirsute duo of Anton Devcich and Dean Brownlie guided the Northern Knights to the Super Smash Twenty20 title by nine wickets over the Central Stags.
Devcich gave another reminder in front of attending New Zealand selector Gavin Larsen of his allround excellence in the format, while Brownlie’s shrewd captaincy and strokemaking shone at Hamilton’s Seddon Park on Saturday.
They also combined to produce a stunning catch, when Brownlie leapt to claim a one-hander off Devcich’s bowling to remove Central’s top-scorer George Worker.
Brownlie went against the grain by holding back Devcich from the bowling crease after the visitors won the toss and opted to bat first.
The Knights earned the home final by finishing top of the roundrobin with the best record of the six domestic associations, regularly achieved by using Devcich opening the bowling. On Saturday, Brownlie opted to use seam and pace and keep his spin weapons up his sleeve. It worked a treat as the Stags were never in the hunt.
The hosts dictated terms as the Stags limped to 99-8 off their 20 overs. Victory came with 11.1 overs to spare, handing Northern Districts $80,000 prizemoney while Central Districts, runners-up last season also, took $20,000 for second place.
‘‘We thought it might swing at the top, which it did,’’ Brownlie said.
‘‘I think it proved quite difficult for the CD players.’’
Brent Arnel, Scott Kuggeleijn and Chris Jordan bowled excellent line and length to put the Stags’ top-order under immediate pressure.
That set the scene for Northern’s spin duo of Ish Sodhi - the top-ranked Twenty20 bowler in the world - and Devcich. The ex-Black