16 Jan 2022Our Northern Brave men and women were back with more Dream11 Super Smash action today as they hosted the Wellington Firebirds and Blaze at Cobham Oval. It was the first time T20 cricket had been hosted in Whangarei since 2015 for the men and 2016 for the women.
Up first were the women’s sides. Brooke Halliday won the toss and opted to bat first. After a good start in the first two overs the wickets started to tumble quickly. Sam Barriball offered a little bit of resistance but once she departed for 22 then the rest swiftly followed suit. Our side eventually bowled out for 46 after an excellent spell of 4-1 from Xara Jetly. Halliday (10) was the only other batter to reach double figures.
With the ball our girls offered a good fight and refused to go down easy. Emma Baker picked up two wickets but ultimately the Blaze took the victory by eight wickets.
Then it was the men’s tun. Firebirds skipper Michael Bracewell called correctly at the toss and decided to bat first. Anurag Verma continued his strong tournament by picking up the wicket of Finn Allen in the second over. Eight balls later Scott Kuggeleijn removed the other opening batsmen, Tim Robinson. Then spin came to the party, firstly with Joe Walker dismissing Troy Johnson for 18 and then Ish Sodhi had the in-form Michael Bracewell walking back to the pavilion for 15. From there our bowlers kept applying pressure and picking up wickets, eventually bowling Wellington out for 104 in the 19th over. Verma was the best finishing with 3-25 from 3.3 overs and spinners Joe Walker (2-14), Mitch Santner (2-15) and Ish Sodhi (1-22) were also impressive. Scott Kuggeleijn (1-13) got one too and Colin de Grandhomme affected a run out.
It was then our turn to bat. The wicket proved to be tricky as our top order struggled to gain any real momentum. But our batsmen fought hard and kept up with the required rate. Jeet Raval and Colin de Grandhomme put on a 36-run partnership to take the game deep. And an unbeaten partnership of 35 between de Grandhomme and Northland local Henry Cooper saw the side home with an over to spare. Colin de Grandhomme continued his fine form with 41 not out, well supported along the way by Cooper (17*), Tim Seifert (15) and Raval (15). The six-wicket win pushes us into the finals with two games to spare!
Our sides will have a short break before heading south to take on the Canterbury Magicians and Kings in Christchurch on Friday night.
Photo Credit: Photosport
