Otago and Central Districts snared wins in the latest round of Ford Trophy, while the top of the table battle between Canterbury and Northern Districts was rained off. Canterbury did manage to roll through their batting innings with Chad Bowes hitting 74 runs @ 102sr, along with Zak Foulkes' 47 runs @ 82sr and a strong lower order flurry which saw Canterbury finish up on 273 with three deliveries remaining.

ND were able to bat for 10 overs before the rain came, which was just enough time for Foulkes to offer another gem...

Zak Foulkes stopppit #FordTrophy pic.twitter.com/CPuwrckS3v
— The Niche Cache (@thenichecache) February 10, 2024

Here's how the table looks...

ND: 4-2 | 22 points
Canterbury: 3-3 | 19 points
CD: 3-3 | 17 points
Otago: 3-3 | 17 points
Auckland: 4-4 | 16 points
Wellington: 2-4 | 13 points

Wellington did well to dismiss Otago for 226 in 44.4 overs with Logan van Beek leading the attack (3w @ 3rpo), along with 2 wickets for Adam Milne, Ben Sears and Peter Younghusband. Dale Phillips scored 57 runs @ 87sr for Otago and Andrew Hazeldine took Otago beyond 200 runs with 54* @ 207sr in a hectic partnership with Jacob Duffy (27 runs @ 180sr).

That last wicket hoorah was a key difference between the teams as Wellington were all out for 211 in reply. Troy Johnson led the run-scoring with 83 runs @ 76sr, but it was former Firebird Luke Georgeson who ripped through Wellington's middle order with 5w @ 3.7rpo.

Auckland batted first against CD and scored 233. George Worker (56 runs @ 61sr) and Cole Briggs (49 runs @ 87sr) took Auckland to 90/1 in a strong opening partnership before the CD spinners got busy. Ajaz Patel snared 3w @ 3.1rpo and Jayden Lennox took 2w @ 4.6rpo, which flowed into Brad Schmulian's 104* @ 82sr to take CD to victory.

Curtis Heaphy also scored 52 runs @ 59sr which is his third 50+ score in Ford Trophy this summer. Heaphy joins Wellington's Johnson, Otago's Thorn Parkes and ND's Brett Hampton as the only players with three scores over 50 and all four have enticing List-A records...

Brett Hampton: 32yrs - 34.53avg/108sr
Troy Johnson: 26yrs - 37.4avg/81sr
Thron Parkes: 23yrs - 50.2avg/69sr
Curtis Heaphy: 20yrs - 46.6avg/56sr

Schmulian's century is his first in List-A cricket which is funky because he averages 44.9. Along with a healthy First-Class average of 38.5, Schmulian is one of the sneaky best batters on the domestic circuit and he hasn't played a Super Smash game in his career. Schmulian wasn't at his best in the first stanza of Plunket Shield with 145 runs @ 20avg, but right now he is CD's leading run-scorer in Ford Trophy.

Bowes has found form after a slow start to the summer with scores of 85, 35, 46 and 17 to finish Super Smash followed by scores of 39, 17 and 74 in the return of Ford Trophy. Here is Bowes' mahi this summer...

Plunket Shield: 28 runs @ 7avg
Ford Trophy: 273 runs @ 39avg/96sr
Super Smash: 220 runs @ 22avg/140sr

Andrew Hazeldine sexy sixes (54* @ 207sr) #FordTrophy pic.twitter.com/xAZohUMY3N
— The Niche Cache (@thenichecache) February 10, 2024

Hazeldine had a solid Super Smash with the ball taking 9w @ 27avg/8.3rpo but didn't showcase his batting talents (12 runs @ 3avg/85sr) and didn't even hit a six in Super Smash. In three innings of Ford Trophy batting, Hazeldine has scored 106 runs @ 106avg/143sr and while he took all 5 of his wickets in the game prior, Hazeldine's on 22avg/5rpo with his swift lefty seam.

The leading wicket-takers in Ford Trophy gathered a couple wickets each in yesterday's action. Kristian Clarke took 2w @ 7.8rpo against Canterbury and Ray Toole took 2w @ 4.1rpo which ensures they stay first and second for wickets. Georgeson's baggy doesn't put him in the top 10 wicket-takers listed below but it does highlight his nifty all-round skillset that is best deployed in the one-day format. Georgeson has a List-A batting average of 32.7 and a bowling average of 30.1, chillin' as the second best bowler for Otago.