New captain Greg Hay is off to a winning start after the Central Stags took an outright win against Canterbury to open the Plunket Shield defence.

Despite losing the entirety of days two and three to wet weather, brilliant Nelson sunshine bookended the match and provided enough time for Ross Taylor, Dane Cleaver and, for the first time, young allrounders Christian Leopard and Willem Ludick to paste half centuries on the board, after the side had been sent in on day one.

Ludick would later resume unbeaten on 80* when play finally got back underway on a fine but frosty Saturday. Supported by number eight batsman Ryan McCone, 21-year-old Ludick looked composed and calm as he marched towards his maiden first-class century in just his second appearance, before leading the charge to a fourth batting bonus point. 

He would finish unbeaten on 116, including 11 boundaries and two sixes, over a total of almost five hours at the crease, spread across the four days.

“It was a dream come true,” said Ludick. “For it to come so early, and also on my home ground, was a blessing. I took the situation [with the weather] as it came, I realised I couln’t do anything about it, so I just made sure I switched on when it became clear the match would get back underway.”

As soon as the pair reached 352 for seven captain Hay declared, with two and a half sessions left in the match. Canterbury captain Cole McConchie then elected to declare without taking the field, and Hay responded with a double declaration that set Canterbury a chase of 353 in the battle for the 12 remaining outright points.

Against a batting line-up that included BLACKCAPS Tom Latham and Henry Nicholls, the Stags’ disciplined opening attack of Doug Bracewell and Seth Rance led the way with the ball and the team quickly wrested the advantage.

Bracewell sizzled, and made the opening breakthroughs in just the seventh over with a double wicket maiden accounting for Latham and Stephen Murdoch, the former Wellingtonian departing scoreless on Canterbury debut after leaving a ball that nipped into his off stump.

In only his second first-class appearance, young spinner Felix Murray then turned the screws with the big wickets of opener Chad Bowes and Nicholls, both caught by McCone to have Canterbury uneasy at 95 for four. 

The complexion of the chase changed at that point, as the required run rate for Canterbury began to climb and their focus turned to saving the match. 

Seth Rance, showing himself to be fully recovered from the back injury that ended his previous season midway through the final game, then offered up another two double wicket maidens to put the Stags in the box seat for the coveted dozen outright points.

It was Rance’s sixth first-class five-wicket bag (5-53), and his second on the trot after his effort against Northern Districts at Nelson Park in April.

With ND already sitting on 16 points this season after an early eight-wicket victory over the Volts in Mount Maunganui, victory at Saxton Oval would ensure the northerners would not get to steal an early march on the Stags.

However, from a position of 131 for nine against steadily aggressive fields, Canterbury’s last pair showed considerable fortitude. After an afternoon that had beeb buzzing with all the wicket action, the tailend pair of Will Williams and Andrew Hazeldine now stuck fast, and even the introduction of the new ball at 175 for nine did not deliver Bracewell and Rance the elusive last wicket.

As the shadows lengthened and the sun drew closer to the snow-capped mountains beyond, just seven balls remained in the match when left-armer McCone turned at his mark for the final time. The last pair had by now amassed a 76-run stand for the last wicket and was close to breaking a 10th wicket partnership record between the two teams that had stood since 1958/19.

Hazeldine was on strike on 41*, almost double his previous career best. McCone tore in and gave his last ball his all. Within a spli second it had skidded past the edge of Hazeldine’s bat to connect with his off stump. The Stags had won a thriller!

Hay was as relieved as delighted to see the team clinch the win at his home ground. 

“Obviously it had looked like we were going to get home fairly comfortably at one stage, but it was getting very tight. Then, after having not taken the wicket with the new ball, to be honest by that stage I was thinking, man, if this doesn’t happen, this is going to be heartbreaking. To see that last wicket fall was a joyous moment for everyone involved.”

Hay said that with five Stags regulars away in Dubai with New Zealand A, plus Adam Milne and Ben Wheeler unavailable for this match, it was important that his remaining senior players stepped up in the opening round.

Bracewell’s opening spell set the tone and “Seth really steamed in. A couple of spells from him were really aggressive, short, very uncomfortable for the batsmen. His haul was well deserved, and it was a fairly flat wicket — easier once you were in on it. But if you really tested them early, once you got one wicket, there was a chance of another. That’s the kind of wicket it was, you get them in clumps and that’s what happened.”

With the bat, BLACKCAPS star Ross Taylor was influential in quickly steadying the first innings after a rocky start on day one, but it would be a match to remember for young guns Christian Leopard and Willem Ludick as they took the Stags forward in a pivotal session after tea.

“Willem is a phenomenal talent. He’s been in Nelson for a year and a half now so he knows this ground well, and he’s got a very good head of his shoulders. He’s a genuine all-round cricketer and to see him get his century here in just his second game was tremendous.”

The 145-run win means the Central Stags are equal with ND on 16 points after Round One, the only two sides to seal a first-up win. The Stags take the number one spot having secured a fatter net run rate. 

Points table https://www.nzc.nz/domestic/points-tables/plunket-shield

Scorecard https://scoring.nzc.nz/livescoring/matchdf8d1f58-ef49-4899-8fee-f70dd3408ce5/scorecard.aspx

The lads now head to Auckland to play the Auckland Aces at Eden Park Outer Oval from Wednesday. The Aces drew with the Firebirds at the Basin Reserve in the first round and will be hungry to get on the board, with BLACKCAP Martin Guptill likely to boost their top order firepower. 

The Plunket Shield will then take a break as all teams flick over to one-day mode and the start of The Ford Trophy, which will see the Stags return to sunny Saxton Oval for the Wednesday October 24 white ball opener against the Otago Volts (11am start). 

Article added: Monday 15 October 2018