Big hitters help Knights nail title

The young guns led the way as the Northern Knights overcame the odds to beat Auckland and defend their one-day title at Colin Maiden Park yesterday.
BJ Watling's masterful knock of 145 not out was the stand out performance. But fellow opener Daniel Flynn started the ball rolling with a speedy 59 and Kane Williamson also scored 69 as the Knights posted a first innings total of 304-3 and then Williamson followed that up with a five wicket bag that tore the heart out of the Aces' chase.
Watling's innings included 16 fours and two sixes and included shots all over the ground. It also sent a clear message to the New Zealand selectors after he was omitted from the Black Caps limited over squad to play in the Australian series - but he wasn't worried about that yesterday.
"I'm not too concerned about that, I'm just happy to get the win here today and stoked to get a big one and to win back to back titles," Watling said.
"It was a good deck and a fast outfield and if the bowlers missed their length they were punished but it wasn't only me, Kane and Daniel were unbelievable today."
After such a massive score, the chase was always going to be a daunting one for the Aces but the Knights bowling attack was far superior to their rival's  effort and the loss of regular wickets robbed the Auckland batsmen of  the momentum  they needed.
The victory was a massive turnaround from the previous week, where the Knights were bowled out by the Aces for just 104 on the same wicket - allowing Auckland to go straight into the final with a morale boosting eight-wicket win.
The Knights were forced to pick themselves up after the defeat and beat Central Districts midweek in Whangarei to qualify for yesterday's final. Knights' captain James Marshall said he knew  most people believed the Aces would win again.
"A lot of people asked the question how could we come back after our poor performance last week but we did it under pressure up in Whangarei last week and once again today and it was the young guys who stepped up today, guys like BJ (Watling), Daniel Flynn and Kane Williamson and the senior guys did their bit too, so we're really proud of the way we went about it and feel we fully deserved that win," he said.
 Williamson was awarded the player of the series trophy after the match - not just for his performance in the final but for his batting fluency in the whole competition - which was a big factor in the Knights reaching the semifinals.
"It was good to make a contribution in the final but all the boys stepped up today and it was a team effort," Williamson said.
He wasn't even sure he'd get a bowl in the final. A finger injury meant he hadn't bowled much recently but the Tauranga 19-year-old finished with his best  one-day figures, taking  5-51 off his eight overs.
Sent into bat, Flynn was the early aggressor for the Knights scoring his 59 off 58 balls and setting up the possibility of a big score. When he departed, Watling took over the scoring mantle and was soon joined by Williamson and their 100-run partnership came up after just 103 balls.
Tim McIntosh (50) and Ravi Bopara (62) gave Auckland hope after the early departure of Reece Young but the pressure to maintain the scoring rate and tight bowling saw them perish. Gareth Hopkins, Lou Vincent, Anaru Kitchen and Colin De Grandhomme all tried to maintain the asking rate but in the end, they were all were dismissed in their 30s.