Unwanted for much of the summer, Tauranga's Graeme Aldridge showed the selectors what they'd been missing as the Northern Knights won their fifth domestic one-day title in Saturday's State Shield final in Hamilton.
In a day for two of New Zealand domestic cricket's senior statesmen, Aldridge and Northland's Joseph Yovich were
at the heart of the Knight's stellar win.
Both boasting more than a decade of achievement for Northern, Yovich, 32, and Aldridge, the Bay of Plenty 31-year-old, chose the final at Seddon Park to produce a clutch of individual bests as an under-strength Otago were overwhelmed by 49 runs.
Yovich and Aldridge _ who have come close but never worn New Zealand colours _ were contented figures as celebrations kicked off in the changing sheds.
Unlikely batting hero Aldridge enjoyed reflecting on his fourth one-day final success.
"It was great to play a part, with bat as well as the ball, because you always want to perform in the big games," he said yesterday, where the celebrations were continuing with a party and beers at his house.
"I got man of the match the last time we won (in 2005) but this was more of an all-round display."
Aldridge's 36 off 39 balls was vital as he and Yovich scored the bulk of the 97 runs whacked off the final 10 overs. Aldridge then produced career-best figures with the ball, claiming five for 39 as Otago were dismissed for 189 with 27 balls remaining.
Man-of-the-match Aldridge was making just his fourth appearance of a campaign in which Northern lost only three of 11 matches. He was even sent down to the provincial A tournament with ND, unable to crack the province's top side.
"When you've got Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Bradley Scott and Brent Arnel, it's been pretty a tough summer to get a run, which I suppose made yesterday even more satisfying.
"I got thrown a chance with Trent over in Aussie _ I might not have got a run otherwise. It's just been a case of working hard in the nets, knowing that if I was chucked in I had to take my opportunity."
Yovich hit an unbeaten 78 off 76 balls as Northern reached 238 for nine, his best score in 96 domestic one-day matches. Former Northern pace bowler Ian Butler virtually fought a lone hand for Otago, taking five for 55 and striking 44 off 23 balls as he launched a late bid for victory.
However, his side suffered through the absence of three key batsmen on New Zealand duty _ captain Craig Cumming, Brendon McCullum and Neil Broom.
As with Northern, none of the Otago batsmen could advance beyond 30 on slow-paced pitch.
"I knew if we could get near 200 it gave us a chance and everything from there was a bonus," Yovich said.
"I was able to work towards the power play with Graeme and get as many runs off that as we could."
Otago's cause wasn't helped by a sloth-like 17 off 70 balls from the usually-brutal English import Dimitri Mascarenhas. Although stopping short of saying the Seddon Park was tailor-made for his medium-pace, Aldridge conceded his experience on the ground counted when it came to delivering the knockout blow.
"With bowling, I wasn't trying to take too much pace off it, just bowl into a wicket that was slow and stopping a bit. I wasn't focused on swinging it or trying to get too much movement."
All sides now switch attention to the Twenty20 championship, with the first of eight rounds on Wednesday.
Unwanted for much of the summer, Tauranga's Graeme Aldridge showed the selectors what they'd been missing as the Northern Knights won their fifth domestic one-day title in Saturday's State Shield final in Hamilton.
In a day for two of New Zealand domestic cricket's senior statesmen, Aldridge and Northland's Joseph Yovich were
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.