Domestic Cricket Daily: Ford Trophy #1
50-over cricket, how about it yeah? The Ford Trophy swung into action yesterday after some Super Smash and as the first round of the FT coincides with a Blackcaps Test and the Big Bash League's continuation, there were not only some funky teams selected, we were also treated to some impressive performances from the young crop of kiwi cricketers who have me frothing with anticipation.
Sean Solia hit 150 and he's 24 years, Lockie Fergsuon took 6-for and he's 25 years, Matt Taylor hit 7 sixes and he's 24 years, Josh Clarkson smoked 70 off 40-odd deliveries and he's only 19 years and Ben Wheeler took 4-for and despite being all up in the Blackcaps mix, he's only 25. Of course, the typically grizzly group of kiwi veterans also played their part but as the provinces dive deeper into their squads we are seeing more fresh faces not only selected, but also called upon to perform and contribute to wins.
Auckland vs Northern Districts (Auckland win)
Notables
Auckland 295 off 47.1 overs.
Sean Solia - 152.
Scott Kuggeleijn - 2/45 @ 4.50rpo, Jono Boult - 3/63 @6.30rpo, Darryl Mitchell - 2/46 @9.20rpo.
ND 134 off 27 overs.
Lockie Ferguson - 6/27 @3.37rpo.
Notes
Having come up through the Auckland ranks, Sean Solia is finally getting a steady shot at domestic cricket and it doesn't get much better than smacking 152 off 153 balls in your List-A debut. That Solia was put in at No.3 is not only a testament to his skill as a cricketer as he's also a handy seamer, it's also a sign of Auckland's trust in their young brigade and along with Glenn Phillips, Ben Horne and Shawn Hicks, Auckland have quite some young brigade.
In returning to the Aces after a stint with the Blackcaps, Lockie Ferguson rolled through ND with that extra splash of pace and spearing in a yorker that crashed into Daniel Flynn's stumps should be a sign of Ferguson's pace. Please folks, don't underestimate or sleep on how good a bowler Ferguson is in four and one-day cricket. He's made his mark in international T20 cricket despite a 43.40avg/8.34rpo in domestic T20 cricket, which compared to his 26.18avg/6.16rpo in one-day and 25.09avg/3.31rpo in four-day cricket, is rather poo.
Ferguson was going up against Scott Kuggeleijn as the speed demons here and by the looks of things Kuggeleijn wasn't too far behind Ferguson. This will be fun game I play as I try to estimate speeds; Ferguson was probably around 148-150km/h, while Kuggeleijn could have been in the early 140's ... 143km/h.
Also noteworthy is that Kuggeleijn came in at No.5 to bat, after opening the bowling for ND.
ND rolled out a very raw pace attack, led by Kuggeleijn and also featuring Zak Gibson and Brett Hampton. These lads will be crucial to ND's campaign, especially as they looked light in their batting line up.
Otago vs Wellington (Wellington win)
Notables
Otago 302 off 50 overs.
Jimmy Neesham - 65, Anaru Kitchen - 60, Michael Bracewell - 51, Christi Viljoen - 55.
Hamish Bennett - 2/59 @5.90rpo, Brent Arnel 3/57 @5.70rpo, Anurag Verma 3/46 @4.60rpo.
Wellington 304 off 48.1 overs.
Tom Blundell - 41, Luke Woodcock - 92, Matt Taylor - 56, Anurag Verma - 42.
Anaru Kitchen - 4/49 @4.90rpo.
Notes
I'll be keeping a close eye on Jimmy Neesham throughout this competition as he's in a weird spot having settled in on the fringe of the Blackcaps. Neesham smoked 65 off 56 balls at No.4 and also took a wicket in his 4 overs with the ball, which with Corey Anderson still not bowling should have Neesham with his nose ahead of Anderson. Anderson also batted at No.4 but could only manage 12.
Domestic cricket fans know that Michael Bracewell is a talented cricketer, we're all kinda just waiting for him to come out and dominate. Like Neesham, it's great then that Bracewell got his campaign off to a strong start and Otago's middle order of Neesham, Kitchen and Bracewell could offer a few headaches as they are all hard-hitting lefties.
Christi Viljoen has a First-Class century and 10 half-centuries, so he's a very handy lower order bat for Otago.
Wellington's Matt Taylor hit 56 runs, with no fours just 7 sixes.
There's also plenty of good vibes in the way Anurag Verma put together a strong all-round performance for Wellington, as he's been in and out of their side for the past few seasons after moving down from ND. He was the most economical Wellington bowler (4.60rpo) and took 3 wickets after the Neesham/Kitchen onslaught to slow Otago down, then he chipped in with 42 off 50 balls to steer Wellington to victory.
Luke Woodcock continues to be an unstoppable force for Wellington as he's among the best batsmen in the Plunket Shield as an opener and hit 92 off 108 balls at No.6 here. There's probably not a better cricketer in Aotearoa than Woodcock right now.
Englishman Scott Borthwick is back for Wellington after spending the English summer sniffing around the England team. He had a shitty start though, going at 11rpo with his leggies and dismissed for 6.
Canterbury vs Central Districts (Canterbury win)
Notables
CD 296/6.
George Worker - 90, Jesse Ryder - 68, Josh Clarkson - 70.
Matt Henry - 2/47 @4.70rpo, Todd Astle - 2/55 @5.50rpo, Tim Johnston - 2/60 @6rpo.
Canterbury 297/8 off 49.2 overs.
Jack Boyle - 43, Peter Fulton - 53, Todd Astle - 60, Cameron Fletcher - 42.
Ben Wheeler - 4/51 @5.10rpo, Blair Ticker - 2/68 @6.80rpo.
Notes
So, 19-year-old Josh Clarkson hit 7 fours and 3 sixes in his 70 off 43 balls which really shouldn't come as a surprise because he's got 48.50avg/131.08sr in List-A cricket through three games. His T20 hitting is borderline mythical with a 43.14avg/146.60sr and this 70* came on the back of 53* in the Super Smash final.
I don't think there's a better sight than watching Jesse Ryder having a whack in domestic cricket, simply because there's no one else who has the same eye as Ryder, with the same hand-speed as him, with the same audacity as him. Ryder is also the veteran of CD's young batting line up, forming a key combo with another experienced domestic player George Worker who is keeping himself in the Blackcaps frame with more runs.
Worker is in the same cluster as Ben Wheeler and despite going at 5.10rpo, with his team losing, Wheeler looked superb with 4 wickets. There was a level of zip in Wheeler's work, with swing and pace that caught the eye, he looked to be in that Kuggeleijn area of 142-3km/h. I don't think it's any coincidence that Wheeler is healthy and rolling through the impressive performances.
Logan van Beek shouldn't be slept on in the pace stuff either, he looked to be just below the 140km/h mark.
Blackcaps seamer Matt Henry will shine in the Ford Trophy, with bat and ball, believe that. We all know what Henry can do with the ball and we can expect Henry to chip in with a couple wickets every game, the funk however comes in his batting down the order. Henry is kinda like Tim Southee or Trent Boult with the bat, only better and his 10* off 5 balls to help Canterbury win will be repeated a few more times throughout the competition.
Luke Woodcock or Tood Astle, who ya got? Astle did his standard work of 2/55 and 60 off 56 balls at No.5 to make a case for himself as Aotearoa's best cricketer right now.
Also, Tom Blundell hit 41 off 45 for Wellington as an opener and Cameron Fletcher played a crucial knock for Canterbury with 42* off 42 balls. Fletcher has slid down the wicket-keeper pecking order in the last 12 months or so, overtaken by Blundell, Tim Seifert, Dane Cleaver and even Glenn Phillips but he sent a timely reminder of what he can do. Don't place any restrictions on which of these lads could step up to the Blackcaps and just because Blundell's been there, doesn't make him the automatic option; we have some super duper depth.
Leaders
Bat
Sean Solia (Aux): 1 inns, 152 runs, 152avg, 119.68sr, 1 x 100.
Luke Woodcock (Welly): 1 inns, 92 runs, 92avg, 85.18sr, 1 x 50.
George Worker (CD): 1 inns, 90 runs, 90 avg, 82.56sr, 1 x 50.
Josh Clarkson (CD): 1 inns, 70 runs, 162.79sr, 1 x 50.
Jesse Ryder (CD): 1 inns, 68 runs, 68avg, 82.92sr, 1 x 50.
Ball
Lockie Ferguson (Aux): 1 inns, 8 overs, 6 wkts, 4.50avg, 3.37rpo.
Anaru Kitchen (Otago): 1 inns, 10 overs, 4 wkts, 12.25avg, 4.90rpo.
Ben Wheeler (CD): 1 inns, 10 overs, 4 wkts, 12.75avg, 5.10rpo.
Anurag Verma (Welly): 1 inns, 10 overs, 3 wkts, 15.33avg, 4.60rpo.
Brent Arnel (Welly): 1 inns, 10 overs, 3 wkts, 19avg, 5.70rpo.