Mayhem at Carisbrook and a tale of two substitutes
Domestic cricket took centre stage this past week and included some extraordinary events on the last day of the Shell Trophy game between Otago and Northern Districts at Carisbrook
Francis Payne
15-Jan-2001
Domestic cricket took centre stage this past week and included some extraordinary events on the last day of the Shell Trophy game between Otago and Northern Districts at Carisbrook.
In an attempt to bring about a result, Otago used part time bowlers who sent down deliberate full tosses and long hops while the fielders made no attempt to stop the ball.
The end result was that Northern Districts made 285/6 in only 76 minutes from just 22.4 overs. The innings milestones were as follows:
50 in 10 mins 100 in 20 mins 150 in 34 mins 200 in 46 mins 250 in 66 mins
Hamish Marshall (who made his highest score) reached fifty off 22 balls in 20 minutes while Neal Parlane took 26 minutes and 23 balls. Interestingly neither player bettered Andre Adams' 20-ball fifty scored in authentic circumstances for Auckland against Otago in 1997/98 (on that occasion, Adams had come in to bat facing a pair in his first-class debut).
Marshall, who finished with 83 off 41 balls in 34 minutes, was on target to score the fastest hundred in New Zealand first-class cricket - certainly in terms of time. The record is held by Lance Cairns who reached his hundred off 45 balls in 52 minutes for Otago against Wellington at Lower Hutt in 1979/80 and Barry Cooper (52 minutes and 66 balls) for Northern Districts against Canterbury at Gisborne in 1986/87.
Andrew Hore (5-0-77-1) bowled for the first time in a first-class match while Matt Horne (7-0-68-2) took his first wicket in first-class cricket despite having being used as New Zealand's first change bowler in legitimate circumstances in the First Test against Sri Lanka at Dunedin as far back as 1996/97. Mark Richardson (10.4-0-136-3) completed the bowling lineup.
The most expensive over was Hore's fifth (20 runs) while Horne and Richardson both somehow managed an over where only three singles were scored.
Paul Wiseman created history when he was called into the New Zealand one-day side while he was playing for Otago in their Shell Trophy game against Canterbury at Alexandra. He became the first player to be withdrawn from and replaced in a first-class game in New Zealand on three occasions. Mark Priest, Chris Harris and Heath Davis have been substituted twice in first-class matches.
As if that was not enough, there were further dramas when Wiseman was included in the Otago team to play Northern Districts at Dunedin the day after the final one-dayer against Zimbabwe at Auckland. Because of flight schedules, Wiseman was absent when the match began at Carisbrook and twelfth man Nathan McCullum (who had replaced Wiseman in the previous game) took the field when play started.
Shayne O'Connor then broke down in the ninth over of the day and just as Otago's thirteenth man, Albion club player Lachlan Weir, was about to get onto the field, Wiseman arrived, took the field, and McCullum stayed on as substitute for O'Connor.
Even more bizarre events were to follow in this game with regard to substitute fielders. On the last day, Otago had intended to bat on, having established a small lead overnight. During warmups, however, both Chris Gaffaney and Kerry Walmsley suffered injuries.
With play about to start, Otago thus found themselves without both O'Connor and Walmsley and decided that their chances of bowling Northern out were now so slim that a declaration was their best option. The absurd situation then arose of the ten minute break between innings taking place at the scheduled time for the commencement of play.
Although Gaffaney was able to field (his back injury affected his batted later on) Otago were now down to just ten fielders. Lachlan Weir, however, was destined to miss out again as Lee Germon (with 99 first-class appearances to his credit) had just arrived at the ground and went on as emergency fielder.
Gaffaney and Walmsley, by the way, were not the only players to suffer injury in warmups during the week. Carl Bulfin missed Wellington's Shell Cup match against Otago after sustaining a groin injury just prior to the game.
There were plenty of Shell Cup highlights in the latest two rounds, although not for Central Districts who had their fourth match (out of eight) abandoned without a ball being bowled.
Roger Twose and Stephen Fleming amassed the highest partnership in Shell Cup history when they put on an unbeaten 244 for Wellington against Otago. The highest partnerships for any wicket in the Shell Cup are:
wkt 3rd 244* Roger Twose & Stephen Fleming Wellington v Otago Wellington 2000/01 4th 221 Llorne Howell & Gary Stead Canterbury v Otago Oamaru 1997/98 3rd 216 Chris Nevin & Jason Wells Wellington v Central Districts Wellington 1997/98 1st 205* John Aiken & Mark Douglas Wellington v Canterbury Wellington 1994/95 3rd 199* John Parker & Barry Cooper Northern Districts v Auckland Gisborne 1982/83 5th 198 Chris Cairns & Lee Germon Canterbury v Wellington Christchurch 1992/93 1st 191 Bruce Edgar & Robert Vance Wellington v Northern Districts Gisborne 1981/82 2nd 189 Blair Hartland & Llorne Howell Canterbury v Northern Districts Timaru 1993/94
The partnership between Twose and Fleming was the third individual wicket record set this season. The record for each wicket is now:
wkt 1st 205* John Aiken & Mark Douglas Wellington v Canterbury Wellington 1994/95 2nd 189 Blair Hartland & Llorne Howell Canterbury v Northern Districts Timaru 1993/94 3rd 244* Roger Twose & Stephen Fleming Wellington v Otago Wellington 2000/01 4th 221 Llorne Howell & Gary Stead Canterbury v Otago Oamaru 1997/98 5th 198 Chris Cairns & Lee Germon Canterbury v Wellington Christchurch 1992/93 6th 142 Chris Cairns & Stephen Fleming Canterbury v Central Districts Napier 1993/94 7th 130* Matthew Bell & Stephen Mather Wellington v Northern Districts Mt Maunganui 1997/98 8th 121 Tama Canning & Richard Morgan Auckland v Otago Alexandra 2000/01 9th 98 Lincoln Doull & Brett Williams Wellington v Otago Alexandra 1993/94 10th 56* Warren McSkimming & David Sewell Otago v Northern Districts Oamaru 2000/01
McSkimming and Martyn Croy had equalled the tenth wicket record earlier in the season (see column of 19 December). The best last wicket stands in the Shell Cup are now:
56* Warren McSkimming & David Sewell Otago v Northern Districts Oamaru 2000/01 50 Craig Garner & Alistair Alcock Central Districts v Otago Oamaru 1993/94 50 Martyn Croy & Warren McSkimming Otago v Auckland Auckland 2000/01 47* Jacob Oram & Michael Mason Central Districts v Wellington Waikanae 2000/01 47 Brendon Lyon & Kerry Walmsley Auckland v Central Districts Auckland 1997/98 43 Roydon Hayes & Richard de Groen Northern Districts v Canterbury Christchurch 1995/96 42 Carl Bulfin & Michael Mason Central Districts v Northern Districts Hamilton 1997/98
McSkimming also came close to registering the highest score by a number ten batsman in the Shell Cup. The best scores in that position are:
63 Andrew Penn Central Districts v Canterbury Napier 1996/97 59* Warren McSkimming Otago v Northern Districts Oamaru 2000/01 44 Carl Bulfin Wellington v Canterbury Wellington 2000/01 43* Craig Findlay Central Districts v Auckland Auckland 1996/97
McSkimming's fifty took just 26 balls - one of the quickest in Shell Cup history. The fastest are now:
balls 22 Matthew Maynard Otago v Auckland Alexandra 1997/98 23 Mark Greatbatch Central Districts v Otago New Plymouth 1996/97 26 Lance Cairns Northern Districts v Canterbury Rangiora 1987/88 26 Carl Bulfin Central Districts v Wellington New Plymouth 1997/98 26 Warren McSkimming Otago v Northern Districts Oamaru 2000/01
Roger Twose and Stephen Fleming provided just the fifth instance of two players scoring a hundred in the same Shell Cup innings. Twose features on the list three times and Fleming twice.
Nathan Astle (129) & Stephen Fleming (102) Canterbury v Northern Districts Christchurch 1995/96 Darrin Murray (116) & Stephen Fleming (105*) Canterbury v Central Districts Napier 1996/97 Phil Chandler (106) & Roger Twose (100) Wellington v Canterbury Christchurch 1996/97 Llorne Howell (134*) & Gary Stead (100) Canterbury v Otago Oamaru 1997/98 Roger Twose (120*) & Stephen Fleming (124*) Wellington v Otago Wellington 2000/01
Twose has now scored more Shell Cup centuries than any other player. The most hundreds have been scored by:
100s matches Roger Twose 6 93 Martin Crowe 5 57 Nathan Astle 5 74 Llorne Howell 4 74 Bruce Edgar 3 43 Stephen Fleming 3 50 Craig McMillan 3 50 Matthew Bell 3 53 Mark Richardson 3 64 Chris Cairns 3 65
In Otago's game against Wellington, Mark Richardson became just the second player to carry his bat through a completed (i.e. all out) Shell Cup innings.
Richardson was unbeaten on 88 out of Otago's 172 all out while Kyle Wealleans achieved the feat for Northern Districts against Otago at Alexandra in 1991/92 scoring 77 not out in his side's total of 212 all out.
In the game against Wellington, Otago's Craig Pryor conceded 78 runs from his ten overs. The most runs conceded in a Shell Cup innings is:
10-0-93-2 Craig Presland Northern Districts v Auckland Gisborne 1982/83 9-0-85-1 Robert Kennedy Otago v Canterbury Christchurch 1996/97 10-1-85-0 Robert Kennedy Otago v Central Districts New Plymouth 1996/97 10-0-83-2 Graeme Welch Wellington v Central Districts New Plymouth 1997/98 10-0-80-3 Bruce Blair Otago v Central Districts Oamaru 1982/83 10-0-78-0 Craig Pryor Otago v Wellington Wellington 2000/01