Auckland Aces won their third Ford Trophy title in five seasons after defeating Central Stags in yesterday's final. Despite a niggly start to their summer of cricket and the Ford Trophy, Auckland won five games in a row to burst into the final and this included back to back wins over Central. The first of which saw Auckland chase down 301 as part of Auckland's dominance at home and Auckland then adapted to Queenstown conditions to seal the win in the final.

Lockie Ferguson took 4w @ 3.20rpo as Auckland dismissed Central for 213. George Worker hit 65* and Mark Chapman cruised to 92* (122.6sr) as Auckland reached their target in 36.1 overs. Auckland's victory provides funky updates to some of Aotearoa's best white ball cricketers as their big donnies were relied on for much of the mahi throughout this campaign.

I'm not sure where Worker sits in the Aotearoa mixer, but after moving from Central to Auckland Worker has had a bonkers FT summer. Worker hit four centuries in his 10inns, with 672 runs @ 84avg/87.27sr all up and Worker's steady presence opening the batting laid out foundations from which Martin Guptill, Glenn Phillips and Chapman could attack from.

Guptill: 8inns, 367 runs @ 52.42avg/102.51sr.

Phillips: 10inns, 378 runs @ 42avg/110.52sr.

Chapman: 10inns, 3465 runs @ 51.66avg/94.12sr.

Robert O'Donnell also hit a century (382 runs @ 40.42avg) and Ben Horne added frisky hitting down the order with 164 runs @ 107.18sr. Given that Auckland played most of their games in Auckland at Eden Park's outer oval, their batting numbers are boosted by being comfy in home conditions at a ground where runs tend to flow. This set up some intrigue as to how their batting unit would perform against Central in Queesntown as Central also enjoyed some Pukekura Park slugging.

Along with Worker and Chapman's big knocks, Guptill hit 23 runs @ 109.52sr and Phillips hit 23 runs @ 176.92sr in the final. Such firepower can get the job done anywhere and there is no shortage of funky batting notes to apply here...

Mark Chapman's List-A Summers

2013/14: 271 runs @ 54.20avg, 3 x 50.

2015/16: 268 runs @ 53.60avg, 1 x 100, 1 x 50.

2016/17: 114 runs @ 22.80avg.

2017/18: 489 runs @ 54.33avg, 2 x 100, 2 x 50.

2018/19: 14 runs @ 14avg.

2019/20: 289 runs @ 72.25avg, 1 x 100, 2 x 50.

Add this summer into the equation and Chapman averages 50+ in all but two of his LA summers.

Worker hasn't been on the Blackcaps radar in recent years, while hitting a century in each of his last three LA summers (seven centuries total in three seasons). Worker's LA average of 44.97 is impressive, although not quit as high as Chapman's 51.20avg. Guptill has also been off the radar with a lack of international white ball cricket in Aotearoa this summer and a solid Super Smash (30.20avg/117sr) is now reinforced with a hearty FT campaign.

Phillips continues to be super duper funky. Phillips has 155 runs @ 51.66avg/129.16sr in Plunket Shield, smacked 158 runs @ 31.60avg/146sr in Super Smash and finishes the FT with Auckland's highest batting strike-rate. The fresh wrinkle over the past 12 months has been Phillips' bowling and Phillips finishes the FT with 7w @ 33.28avg/5.29rpo from 44 overs.

Phillips took 3w in 5 overs of Super Smash cricket, plus Phillips is playing a PS role with the ball as he's got 3w @ 1.92rpo in 12.3ov. Phillips has bowled 61 overs total this summer and as Amelia Kerr has become Aotearoa's best batter, we must now flip our perception of Phillips around from a wicket-keeping option to someone who sometimes plays as Auckland's second spinner.

For context, Chapman has bowled 14.5 overs this summer.

Lockie Ferguson continues to be excellent when he plays. Ferguson finishes with 14w @ 14.64avg and his bowling strike-rate of 19 is the best for bowlers with 8+ wickets. Ferguson also took 17w @ 16.11avg in the Super Smash and his strike-rate of 13.3 was also elite.

As long as Ferguson's on the field, everything is honki-dory. Ferguson's last T20I game was in India last year after missing the T20 World Cup and he last played an ODI in early 2020. It's easy to forget about Ferguson when exploring the Blackcaps mixer and his presence here is testament to Aotearoa's blossoming depth.

Auckland's spinners (not Phillips) were also steady. Will Somerville has low key bounced back from the Test tour of India with 7w @ 18avg/2.04rpo in PS, 8w @ 21.75avg/7.84rpo in SS and 11w @ 34.81avg/4.42rpo in FT. None of this is to suggest that Somerville is back putting pressure on Ajaz Patel (only played six SS games and one FT game since returning from India), but merely to highlight Somerville's mana.

Part of that mana is leading the way for youngster Adithya Ashok who took 11w @ 38.72avg/5.83rpo in the FT. Ashok is yet to play a PS game and impressed in SS with 14w @ 17.14avg/6.48rpo - second only to Ferguson for Auckland's leading wicket-taker in SS.

Auckland's FT success highlights the talent below what you're watching now with the Blackcaps Test team. Guptill is still a factor, Phillips and Chapman appear hungry to pounce on international opportunities just like Ferguson. Worker and Ashok sit at opposite ends of this scale as Worker is still performing at a high level even though most won't have him in the Blackcaps mix, while Ashok has quickly settled into the domestic circuit as a youngster to keep close tabs on.

Plunket Shield cricket swings back around on Thursday with Northern hosting Wellington in Whangarei and Auckland hosting Canterbury.

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Peace and love.