Auckland cantered into the final of the Super Smash Twenty 20 cricket competition after beating defending champions Northern Districts in Hamilton, thanks in no small part to Michael Bates creating a slice of history.
Northern were bowled out for a disappointing 140, with Bates claiming the first hat-trick in domestic Twenty20 cricket. He cleaned up Northern's tail, dismissing firstly Scott Kuggeleijn, then Jono Boult and Ish Sodhi.
Auckland chased down the target with consumate ease, winning by six wickets and with 15 balls to spare.
The result will be a bitter pill for Northern, who qualified for the playoffs in top spot but failed to win either of their preliminary finals, having also lost to Wellington on Friday. The result means Auckland will take on Wellington in today's final, which is also being played at Seddon Park.
Hat-tricks have been elusive during the short history of the Twenty20 game, with just three recorded in international cricket. Of those, two were claimed by New Zealanders, the first to Jacob Oram in 2009 and the second to Tim Southee in 2010.