EFFORT: CD captain William Young and teenager Joshua Clarkson did their bit last night but it wasn't enough against ND in Hamilton. PHOTO/Paul Taylor
IF winning is a habit then is it fair to assume the Central Districts Stags are slowly drifting off course and desperately need to find their radar before things start going pear shaped.
On the flip side, though, one can argue it is only the second defeat for the Stags who have the depth and talent to bounce back, after going down by 10 runs to the Northern Districts Knights in Hamilton last night in round six of the McDonald's Super Smash T20 match for their second loss in a row.
Having won the toss, CD elected to bowl with skipper William Young adding: "Basically, with a night game, we feel the ball might skid on later on and we'll chase down whatever the Knights post."
Interestingly ND skipper Dean Brownlie revealed they were going to bat because in their previous game the wicket had slowed down.
With CD's new-ball seamer, Ben Wheeler, withdrawing due to illness, spinner Marty Kain, who former India batsman Virender Sehwag once described as a preying mantis, found himself opening with swinger Seth Rance.
CD coach Heinrich Malan had swapped seamer Navin Patel from the previous round for left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel but wasn't compelled to follow up the pre-match talk of employing another slow bowler on a wicket that traditionally offers a modicum of dormancy at one end.
Conversely the Knights took in a trio of tweakers, including Black Caps Mitchell Santer who showed his class as the most frugal of the match (4 runs an over) as all ND bowlers, bar Black Caps left-arm seamer Trent Boult who proved a handful, claimed a scalp each.
Perhaps the selection of CD batsman Ben Smith, while deserving and predominantly slick as a fielder, on reflection would have had fans scratching their heads because he didn't bat and isn't regarded as a bowler.
Desperate to keep their campaign alive, the James Pamment-coached hosts had pulled out their big guns from a beehive of Black Caps to post a challenging 197-5 total in 20 overs at a sunny but springy Seddon Park.
Rance and Kain felt the brunt of ND openers Brownlie and Black Cap test wicketkeeper BJ Watling before Ryan McCone brought some sanity to the CD innings when the former holed out to Smith at long on just before the fielding restrictions were lifted in the sixth over as ND posted 57-1.
It was 72-2 when ND wicketkeeper Tim Seifert came and went somewhat unsteadily, slicing one to backward of point to George Worker off Kain's spin.
With the country's best domestic red-ball spinner, Patel, running out the drinks and bats, Young chucked the ball to Sri Lanka import Mahela Jayawardene.
A tick for thinking outside the square but Jayawardene took some stick from Black Cap Corey Anderson to haemorrhage 15 runs in his only over although a shot straight past the bowler cost three runs in front of the sight screen through some sloppy fielding from Smith.
The hosts brought up 100 runs from 11 overs although McCone missed an opportunity for a caught and bowled but Smith fielded superbly on the boundary to stop four runs.
Nevertheless, Worker didn't miss a beat with the first ball of his second over as Watling skewed one to Joshua Clarkson at backward of point to leave ND on 101-3.
First-change seamer Blair Tickner took the diligence award, stalking Anderson like a persistent irritated autograph hunter.
Umpire Billy Bowden deemed the Ruahine Motors CHB cricketer to have delivered a dangerous slow full toss to the Black Cap batsman before Kain dropped the next delivery cold at cover but, mercifully, Tickner struck back from the following ball as Anderson toed it to wicketkeeper Dane Cleaver to be dismissed for 28 off 20 balls.
Daryl Mitchell went for 17 when he mistimed a shot to give McCone a comfortable reverse-cup catch at the long-on boundary as the Knights advanced to 160-5 with three overs remaining.
Some lusty hitting from Santner (45no), almost in Daniel Vettori fashion, and Scott Kuggeleijn (23no) boosted the ND total to 197-5 in 20 overs.
The Stags' run chase started promisingly as the visitors pushed above the run rate required before the Knights stifled them in the middle stages with a three-pronged spin attack from Santner, leggie Ish Sodhi and, to a lesser extent, Jono Boult.
CD batting maestro Jayawardene brought up his 50 off 24 balls after flicking one of two sixes off Black Cap Tim Southee over third man for his 16th scoring stroke.
However, Jayawardene looked out plumb to Sodhi's maiden delivery but umpire Shaun Haig, of Otago, thought otherwise although when Santner, who was wired for sound, asked Sodhi what he thought, the reply was an emphatic: "Dead."
Ironically a few balls later, Bowden appeared to be showing the Sri Lankan the index finger off a Scott Kuggeleijn bouncer but, comically, grabbed the felt of his hat instead on realising the ball was nowhere near the bat.
Jayawardene eventually went off a Santner deliver for 64 from 36 balls, caught Kuggeleijn at long on, at a strike rate of 177.8 as CD sat on 84-1 in 8.2 overs.
Sodhi trapped Worker leg before wicket for 26, which made the way for No 4 Tom Bruce.
"Bruce Almighty" didn't have it all his way last night, finding it hard to get away from Santner, Sodhi and eventually went out to Southee in trying to loft a ball over the rope but it hung into a stiff breeze for a spectacular relay catch to Santner on the boundary.
No 3 Young scored 31 runs off 25 balls while for the second game in a row Clarkson showed why CD have invested in a 19-year-old who Bruce talked up in the previous one-run loss to the Otago Volts on Wednesday.
The No 6 batsman, who isn't bowling because of a back ailment, was again unbeaten, this time on 37 runs off 16 balls to bolster the rearguard although it wasn't enough.
For CD, Kain was the pick of the bowlers with 1-19 (4.75 runs an over) after Young showed his nous in captaincy in using him wisely to inject him after the opening-overs storm had passed through.
Tickner, taking 2-38, was the only other bowler to remain below a double-figure run rate (9.5 an over).
Worker played his part with his left-arm offpsin, although Santner took a shine to him in the 14th over, while Rance showed why he his among the top five in the competition with his prodigous swing.
The Stags retain their second place on the ladder behind the Auckland Aces despite the loss after the Volts lost to the Canterbury Kings yesterday by seven runs at Hagley Oval, Christchurch.
The blokes in green should wash down the turkey and ham with a flute of bubbly tomorrow, before finding their mojo against the resurgent flogging boys, Wellington Firebirds, in a 4pm start at the Basin Reserve on Boxing Day.