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Ford Trophy 2021-22 | Round-Up: Northern Districts slump to the bottom after two losses in three games

The Ford Trophy returned this week with two matches on weekdays. Northern Districts and Auckland Aces were the sides that participated in both the matches to now end up at the bottom of the points table with just one win and three losses to its kitty with two matches getting washed out. Prior to this week, the Northern Districts team, also known as Braves also participated in a match that involved Central Districts also known as Stags in it. 

Stags roll over Braves easily

In their fourth match of the season on January 06, the Braves were up against Stags at their home ground in Pukekura Park. After winning the toss and electing to field first, the Stags bowlers were all over the Braves and rolled them over for a meagre 143. 

Northern skipper Joe Carter (38) and Brent Hampton (21*) were the only two batters to put any resistance to the enormous pressure built by Seth Rance, Blair Tickner and spinner Ajaz Patel. Rance was the pick of the bowlers with four wickets to his name. 

Defending the target, pacer Anurag Verma removed Stags opener, Bayley Wiggins for a golden duck with the team score at one. But Maara Ave and Ben Smith took control and put up an assuring stand of 53 runs for the second wicket. 

Post that, three wickets fell quickly to give the Braves an outside chance of coming back in the game with Stags at 84-4. But Brad Schmulian and Josh Clarkson made sure that it did not happen, building an unbeaten partnership of 61 runs to take their team home. For Braves, Verma picked two wickets. 

Brave comeback by Northern in Auckland

Returning from the humbling by Stags, the Joe Carter led side was up against a heavyweight Auckland Aces at their home ground of Eden Park Outer Oval. The Northern Braves won the toss and decided to field first. 

Anurag Verma, who has been in great bowling form this season, continued it and made skipper Carter proud of his decision by picking up Auckland opener Cole Briggs in the third over of the day. Other bowlers and fielders backed it up as well as George Worker, the other opener was run out by Mitchell Santner to make it 27-2 for Auckland. 

Post that, wickets kept falling at regular intervals as no Aces batter was able to get past the 50 run mark and the entire team bundled out for 221 in the 50th over. Verma picked up three wickets while Ish Sodhi and Santner got two each. 

Looking at the batting form of Braves, it didn’t seem an easy chase, especially after the way they were bundled out for 143 in their last game. However, this time around, skipper Carter decided that he was going to make the most of it and sored what was only the second century of his 41 matches long List-A career. 

Carter had a record-breaking 177 run stand for the second wicket with opener Jeet Raval who missed out on a century by just three runs after being removed by William Somerville for 97. Tim Siefert was the other Northern batter to get out that day as they chased down the total in only the 39th over. This was Brave’s first and only victory of the Championship till now. 

Ferguson wins the battle against de Grandhomme

In the last game of the week, the two sides were up against each other once again at the same venue with Auckland being boosted by the return of their premier bowler Lockie Ferguson who missed the last game. 

Ferguson showed exactly why he is one of the best fast bowlers in the world in the 50-Over format as he removed five top-order Braves’ batters including last game heroes Raval and skipper Carter in a span of just 22 balls. Chasing the target of 304, Braves were reeling at 37-4 courtesy of that brilliant spell from Ferguson. 

Coilin de Grandhomme, struggling hard to get back into the reckoning of the selectors played a blinder of an innings, scoring only his third List-A century in a 153 matches long career. He struck a threatening 145 run stand with Santner as the duo took Braves from 37-4 to 182 in just 98 balls. 

But Just when it seemed that they would take the game away from the Aces, Sean Solia broke through and removed Santner. In the very next over, Brett Hampton followed through. de Grandhomme tried his best as he struck yet another partnership of 43 runs with Scott Kuggeleijn. 

The all-rounder reached his hundred but was running out of partners as Kuggeleijn departed as well. With partners and time running out, de Grandhomme tried taking on Ferguson and was removed in the process, giving the fast bowler his sixth scalp. 

In the 39th over, when de Grandhomme got out for 126 off just 104 balls, Braves needed only 48 runs from 72 balls. So it was just a matter of staying at the crease and playing through. But that did not happen. Just after de Grandhomme, the remaining two batters in Ish Sodhi and Zak Gibson got out in the very next over, ending the Braves inning at 256. 

Earlier in the day, riding on a century from opener Worker (132) and 90 ball 95 from captain O’Donnell, the Aces side reached 303-7 in their 50 overs. 

At the end of 12 matches, Wellington are at the top of the table with 12 points from four games while Otago occupy the second spot with eight points from four games. The Championship now takes a break and will return on February 01 after the end of the Super Smash.

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SA vs IND | 3rd Test | Day 2: Onus on batters after Indian pacers turn fortunes in first innings

The Indian fast bowling unit has become a lethal force especially in Test cricket and the pacers, especially Jasprit Bumrah once again showed why they are so dangerous. South Africa, in the first innings of the third Test, were looking pretty steady to compile a good total but it was first Mohammed Shami and then Bumrah who put a halt in their scoring rate. The hosts had lost four wickets at 112 runs but Temba Bavuma and Keegan Petersen got into the act to provide the resistance with a 47-run stand. But the tables certainly turned when Shami got the ball in the 56th over where he took just three deliveries to send Bavuma and then Kyle Verreynne packing. Petersen who tried to hold the fort at one end was then joined by Marco Jansen but the latter wasn’t really able to chip in many runs as he was cleaned up by Bumrah for 7. Petersen was eventually dismissed by Bumrah for 72, reducing the Proteas to 179/8. The tailenders did some good for the Proteas, aggregating 31 runs for the last two wickets, but couldn’t prevent India from taking the first innings lead as the home side was bundled out for 210. India took a lead of 13 runs. Indian pacers rattle South Africa The hosts were at one stage cruising towards a total that could have given them a healthy lead but it was total brilliance from Bumrah and Shami who not only restricted the opponent from capitalising on the partnership between Bavuma and Petersen but also scalped wickets at crucial junctions. Both Shami and Bumrah bowled in the areas that rigorously asked questions from the batters. While Shami pushed South Africa on the back foot with two wickets in the same over, Bumrah’s lethal pacer was enough to help him pick up a fifer in the innings. The right-arm bowler had already scalped the wickets of Elgar, Markram and Jansen before he removed a well-settled Petersen with a length delivery that took the outside edge of the batsman’s bat and went to Pujara in the slips. Petersen could only stand in disbelief but he had to take the long walk back. Bumrah eventually completed his five-wicket haul with Ngidi’s dismissal after the tail-enders frustrated the Indian bowlers a bit. Keegan Petersen’s determination Despite the Indian bowlers asking tough questions with almost every delivery that they bowled, Keegan Petersen’s determination was stout. He faced 166 deliveries during the course of his 72 run inning and made the Indian bowlers work hard for his wicket. While he was cautious enough, Petersen did gather runs on the bad deliveries that came his way. In fact, the disappointment that he showed after getting dismissed for 72 and the way he walked back in the hut showed how focused he was while batting in the middle. Onus back on Kohli, Pujara, Rahane The pace bowling attack of both the teams has utilised the help from the wicket. While the Indian bowlers unleashed a good show, the South Africans didn’t sit back either. While Rabada removed Mayank Agarwal, Jansen got rid of KL Rahul and the onus of putting up a fighting total is now on Kohli, Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane. Both Kohli and Pujara have been among runs in this match, and thus it would now be a test for Rahane. The team management would want him to get some runs under his belt. India ended the day’s proceedings at 57/2 and lead by 70.

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Looking to find right combinations, Mithali Raj seeks useful contribution from lower-order

India Women’s skipper Mithali Raj will be leading her troop into probably what will be her last World cup as the team lands in New Zealand later this month. For Mithali, it is about finding the right combinations in the five-match series against the hosts prior to the World Cup. "We will definitely be looking to fix our combinations for the World Cup and try out a few compositions and also get a little more consistent in the things that worked for us in the last year," said the 39-year-old in an interview to news wire agency PTI. Mithali, who was made India brand ambassador of Jacob's Creek, feels that the lower middle order, which contributed well in the team’s tours to England and Australia in 2021, will be able to come in handy in the World Cup. "The lower middle order contributed in Australia and we would want it to be a little more consistent. And it definitely showed that they have the potential to contribute and all-rounders like Pooja [Vastrakar] and Sneh Rana have done well in England and in Australia,” she said. Talking about the dynamic teenager Richa Ghosh who has been transformed into the permanent wicket-keeper in the limited-overs format, the Indian captain said, "Richa definitely showed that she has the strength and the calibre to sort of going big in the in those last few overs that we actually wanted someone like that.” "She gives us an edge in batting while Taniya (Bhatia) has better glove work - it's good to have good competition for spots and we have a 5 match to series to try out the combinations,” Mithali added. India’s New Zealand tour begins on February 09th with the first ODI at McLean Park in Napier. While the team’s first World Cup game is against arch-rivals Pakistan on March 06 at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui.