At Seddon Park, Hamilton: Central Stags 110-7 (Josh Clarkson 45 from 35, Scott Kuggeleijn 3-14 from 4, Neil Wagner 2-20 from 4) lost to Northern Brave 114-6 from 17.3 overs (Jeet Raval 49 from 35, Freddy Walker 25 not out from 11; Doug Bracewell 3-19 from 4) by four wickets.
Northern Brave’s Super Smash title defence remains alive and kicking.
The Brave beat the Central Stags by four wickets in what was essentially a quarterfinal in Hamilton on Friday night, securing their place in the next week’s elimination final at the visitors’ expense.
Having hauled in the Stags’ 110-7 with 2.3 overs to spare on a tricky pitch which had spent ample time sweating under the covers in the rain-hit north, the result also all but eliminated the Wellington Firebirds.
The Brave can thank Jeet Raval’s captain’s knock, a superb 49 from 35, and Scott Kuggeleijn’s excellent spell with the ball earlier, when he went pole hunting and nabbed 3-14 from his four overs.
While Raval departed before the job was done, leaving Freddy Walker (25 not out from 11) and Kuggeleijn (12 not out from 15) to finish the job, his knock broke the back of a chase which looked doomed when the hosts sagged to 37-5 after 8.5 overs.
Raval was all class, smacking a couple of booming sixes, while also surviving a few iffy moments on a surface which offered the bowlers plenty of assistance.
Indeed, it was a tough day for the batters from the moment the Brave sent the Stags into bat.
Joe Allison/Getty Images
Northern Brave bowler Scott Kuggeleijn produced a fine spell of fast bowling in his team’s crucial win against Central Stags.
Not only did they have to deal with a swinging ball, some balls stood up tall and threatened the gloves, others held and made timing the ball a nightmare, while there was also nibble for the seamers and plenty of turn for the tweakers.
Kuggeleijn proved near unplayable. He bowled 17 dot balls, hit the timber twice, and picked up the all-important wicket of Josh Clarkson in his second spell to end a threatening partnership.
Just ask Stags opener Ma’ara Ave how tough the going was. He didn’t get willow on any of the five Kuggeleijn deliveries he faced, the last of which knocked his off-stump over.
Like the Brave, the Stags also lost four wickets in the power play, scratching to 23-4, and 40-4 halfway through their innings, before Clarkson’s 45 from 35 gave them something to bowl at.
The big moment
Ajaz Patel and Tom Bruce could barely make eye contact with the other after they let a chance Kuggeleijn skied fall between them. Had one of them taken it, the Brave would have been 53-6 and the chase could well have gone awry.
Best with the bat
Jeet Raval is no doubt still wondering how Will Young held on to the tracer-bullet at mid-wicket he unleashed. Nevertheless, his 49 from 35 proved crucial.
Best with the ball
As good as Doug Bracewell was – he had 3-8 after three overs and finished with 3-19 – Kuggeleijn gets the nod. Seventeen dot balls and three wickets from 24 deliveries says it all.
The big picture
Look out, the reigning champions have snuck in the back door. They’ll likely face either Canterbury or Otago on Thursday. Both the Kings and Volts have two matches remaining, fixtures which will decide who plays who and where.
