Cricket: Bubbly time for Stags

Captain Kruger van Wyk leads CD Stags' celebrations in Auckland yesterday. Photo / Sky TV

It seems nothing was going to rain on Central Districts' parade yesterday as the Stags became the 2014-15 Ford Trophy champions in Auckland.

A persistent drizzle at Colin Maiden Park looked ominous but the Devon Hotel-sponsored CD team knew that as the top qualifiers of the domestic 50-over competition they were always going to be declared champions.

But that's not how the Heinrich Malan-coached men wanted to etch their name on the silverware for the fifth time.

"We knew that if it rained we'd get through but we wanted to get out there and win and win properly," said veteran Jamie How last night in his swansong match that the Kruger van Wyk-captained CD comfortably won by 78 runs.

The opening batsman, who could see the funny side of making a pair, said he was delighted to take a golden duck for the collective courtesy of Matt Quinn.

"If someone had asked me before the match if I'd take one on the first ball I would have taken it every time.

"It's a great day. That's why you play the game - for these changing-room moments and winning the titles," said the 33-year-old former Black Cap from Manawatu.

CD won the toss but had to wait for a shortened lunch break before padding up to venture on to the wicket safe under covers.

The initial signs were ominous for the visitors, who had lost their preliminary final match against the Aces to lose hosting rights of the grand final as George Worker, the competition's top run scorer, departed for two runs to leave CD reeling.

Will Young (45) and Van Wyk (53) showed application, pulling CD back into the game before the middle and rear guard - Dane Cleaver (51 from 39), along with Kieran Noema-Barnett (46/52) took them to 271-7.

"We had a horror start but Krugs and Barney dug us out of a very big hole," How said.

Conversely in the run chase, the hosts' middle-order looked shy, leaving Donovan Grobbelaar (45) and Michael Bates (43) to forge a ninth-wicket partnership of 81 to save their blushes. Early season part-timer Andrew Mathieson (4-22) and Bevan Small (3-41) tore the heart out of Auckland who lost eight scalps for 61 runs.

Mathieson's season had a fairytale ending as he took his summer's haul to 31 wickets, eclipsing the record of Northern Districts seamer Graeme Aldridge.

"I had no idea," Mathieson said of the milestone. "I only knew when George [Worker] mentioned it to me as I walked off the ground."

Playing it down, The Station Napier Old Boys' Marist player said it was "very special" in light of How's retirement after a 16-year stint at the domestic level.

Worker said the final in many respects epitomised the Stags' gritty attitude of someone always picking up the slack in times of strife.

"We've had 3-5 different players putting their hand up throughout the season.

"It's almost become our motto in getting us in and out of trouble," said the left-hander of CD who shrugged off a mediocre T20 season to find mojo in the longer white-ball format.

He said it was nice to have got the format's batting accolades but would have preferred to have made more contribution at the business end of the campaign.

"If we hadn't won today it would have come to nothing," the Manawatu player said before they resume their four-day Plunket Shield campaign.