2023/24 Plunket Shield: Canterbury & Auckland Upset Contenders
The 2023/24 Plunket Shield campaign is heading towards a climax in Hamilton with Northern Districts hosting Wellington in a battle for the championship. Wellington's big win over Otago took them to the top spot and then ND lost to Canterbury which keeps them in second with a four point difference between the two teams.
Both teams have four wins and the value of draws is on display here as Wellington have three draws while ND have a loss and two draws. Wellington's slight advantage heading into this game could be crucial depending on how points (first innings, outright etc) are shared throughout this encounter. The final round of Plunket Shield starts on Sunday with Central Districts hosting Otago in Napier and Auckland hosting Canterbury.
ND slipped up against Canterbury and while this sets up an exciting final round, the loss to Canterbury in Rangiora was a niggly affair for the visitors. ND put up 235 runs batting first with Scott Kuggeleijn scoring 65 runs as their leading run-scorer, along with Tim Seifert's 49 runs @ 104sr. Canterbury's bowling effort was led by Zak Foulkes taking 3w @ 3.6rpo and Michael Rae (2w @ 2.9rpo), Angus McKenzie (2w @ 2.5rpo), Michael Rippon (2w @ 4rpo) all snared wickets.
Canterbury responded with 398 runs thanks to 106 runs from Cole McConchie and 146 runs from Mitch Hay. Michael Rippon added 55 runs as Kuggeleijn took 6w @ 2.5rpo. ND rolled out a better batting effort with Joe Carter (54 runs) and Seifert (51 runs) passing 50, plus youngster Sandeep Patel battled away down the order to finish 42*.
Rae was the best bowler for Canterbury in the second dig with 4w @ 3.2rpo. Spinners Michael Rippon (2w @ 2.6rpo) and Cole McConchie (2w @ 4.5rpo) chimed in as well. Canterbury needed 136 runs to win and Chad Bowes was the only Cantab to score 20+ runs, cruising through the run-chase with 87* @ 126sr.
Wicket-keeper Hay gets most of the spotlight from this game as he isn't just the best young wicket-keeper/batter in Plunket Shield, he is the best wicket-keeper/batter in domestic cricket. Hay is one of six batters with 500+ runs and now has a First-Class average of 43.7, which still looks lovely alongside his T20 strike-rate of 148.
Next up for Canterbury runs are Henry Nicholls, McConchie and Rippon who all have 300+ runs. Both of Bowes' 50+ scores have come in the second stanza and these two knocks account for 201 of his 260 runs this season. Canterbury's leading wicket-taker is Foulkes, meaning that two youngsters have the most runs and wickets for Canterbury heading into the final round.
Rippon has the lowest average of notable spinners in Plunket Shield with 16w @ 24.3avg/2.8rpo. CD's Ajaz Patel almost has 10 more wickets than Rippon with 25w @ 29.2avg/2.6rpo, while Louis Delport (21w @ 31.7avg/3.2rpo) leads a crops of spinners averaging 30+.
Auckland batted first against CD and put up 240 runs led by Jock McKenzie's 48 runs. Blair Tickner took 4w @ 2.7rpo and Liam Dudding took 3w @ 2.8rpo before CD scored 340 runs thanks to Tom Bruce's 95 runs and Greg Hay's 79 runs with Dane Cleaver adding 51 runs. Ben Lister took 3w @ 1.6rpo for Auckland along with Delport's 3w @ 3.4rpo.
Mark Chapman exploded with 83 runs @ 122sr to take Auckland to 281 runs, setting a target of 182 for CD to chase. CD were all out for 140 thanks to Jordan Sussex's haul of 6w @ 2.9rpo as well as 3w @ 3.2rpo from Ben Lister.
Sussex also took 2w in the first innings so he finished his second Plunket Shield game with 8w @ 13avg/3.1rpo. Having made his debut in 2022 where he took 3w, Sussex has only played in the longest format for Auckland and his selection came after younger lads like Simon Keene, Angus Olliver, Matt Gibson and Harjot Johal played this summer.
There is immense depth in Aotearoa cricket and there is no shortage of young seamers on the rise, competing with more experienced troopers who are still dominating. One lad to keep in mind is lefty-Lister who has already played three ODIs and 10 T20Is, but he has potential to add a lefty to the Test mix with a FC record of 25.7avg/2.7rpo after 32 games.
Lister's mahi this summer...
Plunket Shield: 11w @ 17avg/1.9rpo
Ford Trophy: 15w @ 22.9avg/4.7rpo
Super Smash: 14w @ 13.9avg/6.2rpo
Jock McKenzie is another youngster to keep track of as an all-rounder. McKenzie had scores of 48 and 39 against CD, with 187 runs @ 46avg in his three Plunket Shield games. McKenzie's best bowling formats are the two white ball formats and his best batting is in the longest format, but he has flashed his ability in all three formats and his mahi should balance out with more game time.
CD are full of intriguing cricketers but Liam Dudding deserves a mention as he has 2+ wickets in five consecutive innings of Plunket Shield. This boosts his FC record of 26avg/3.5rpo and in his three games this summer, Dudding has 14w @ 21avg/3.1rpo. Doug Bracewell is the only CD seamer with a lower average than Dudding and while Dudding makes sporadic appearances in a busy CD seam stable, he is usually taking wickets.
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