Northern Knights vs Auckland Aces. The Aces battled their way to 160, bowled out in the 43rd over with Carl Cachopa's 51 the only score of note besides 41 from Tarun Nethula. Veteran Graeme Aldridge picked up 4 wickets off 8 overs only conceding 18 runs. The Knights struggled with the total but got their in the end thanks to 41 from Dean Brownlie and some double digit efforts from the lower order. Matt Quinn was the pick of the bowlers for the Aces with 3/19 off his 9 overs.
Wellington Firebirds vs Central Stags. The Firebirds worked their way to 244 off their 50 overs as Stephen Murdoch and Tom Blundell both hit half centuries. Andy Mathieson continued to haul wickets in with ease bagging 3 for the Stags but his batsmen couldn't do the job as the Stags stumbled to 222. Kruger Van Wyk continued his nice run of form with 60 but a no show from the Stags top order sealed the deal. Matt McEwan did the business for the Firebirds with the ball, finishing with figures of 4/41 off 7.3 overs.
Otago Volts vs Canterbury? Rain.
That Man Deserves A Mean Feed
Graeme Aldridge, have some Cookie Time bickies mate.
That's about it really, but I'm going to invite the Aces, Knights, Volts and Stags over for a bit of a barbie as they've all qualified for the playoffs. Top work.
Observations From The Observatory
Right, Stags vs Aces on Saturday with the looser to play the winner of the Volts vs the Knights. These are home games for the Stags and Volts, which will probably benefit the Stags the most as they'll be playing at Pukekura Park but the Aces won't be fussed as they'll have a life.
The Stags will need to find some runs again, or find the runs they had earlier in the competition as they have dried up a bit recently. The Stags and Aces are loaded with talent and it'll be interesting to see who comes out on top as there's attacking batsmen and strike bowlers a plenty. Jamie How, George Worker and Will Young are the key men with the bat for the Stags while Andy Mathieson has been taking wickets for fun.
The Aces have Michael Bates, Matt Quinn and Tarun Nethula to call upon with the ball, they have all been bowling well and you can take your pick from their batting line up as it's full to the brim with power and stroke play. Craig Cachopa is their leading run scorer but they have shown that they are equally as likely to pile on runs as they are to collapse.
The Volts vs Knights is another cracker and it will showcase the young guns with the ball in Aotearoa. Ish Sodhi has been bowling well for the Knights while Mitchell Santner and Scott Kuggeleijn continue to impress. For the Volts, swinger Jacob Duffy is their leading wicket taker and he'll have a key role to play with the new ball as the likes of Daniel Flynn and Dean Brownlie have been consistently solid for the Knights.
It's a case of youngins' with the ball and veterans with the bat as Brownlie has been in hot form for the Knights while Aaron Redmond continues to eat domestic bowlers for breakfast with the Volts.
It's a coin flip between the Stags and the Aces, but I'm going to go with the Aces with the Knights handling business against Otago and then romping in to the final to take on the Aces. Aces vs Knights in the final, who ya got?
