YOU DA MAN: Marty Kain points to Ben Wheeler as the saviour after the CD Stags pipped Otago Volts in the Super Smash T20 match in Napier last night. PHOTO/Paul Taylor
IT was frighteningly much closer victory than the Central Districts Stags would have liked last night at McLean Park, Napier.
The Heinrich Malan and Ben Smith-coached Stags got home by the skin of their teeth when the bowlers eked out a five-run result to keep their unblemished run intact in the third round McDonald's Super Smash twenty20 game against the Otago Volts.
"It's the team that copes with the [pressure] when they are on the back foot that manages to bounce back," said Ben Wheeler, the hero of the night as he reflected on how fellow new-ball seamer Seth Rance's wicket of Josh Finnie created a roll-on effect to swing the momentum back into CD's favour.
Englishman Smith had alluded to a bit of luck going a team's way for victory in the fickle game of T20 and it was CD's night after Otago had had theirs on Thursday.
Wheeler said they had taken a few quick wickets at the top but the belligerent middle order of Otago kept asking them questions.
"We felt that we were comfortable as long as we kept taking wickets but Neesh was probably the difference for them and he batted pretty well with three to four overs to go," he said after Black Cap Jimmy Neesham and Finnie stopped the rot in trying to chase down CD's so-so total of 166-5 on a driveway of a track.
No 6 Neesham scored 34 runs and No 7 Finnie 27 to jolt the Stags out of a slumber.
With No 9 Bradley Wilson drawing strength from the bad moon rising at the Napier City end of the park, the Volts sniffed blood requiring 13 runs from an over.
CD skipper William Young chucked the ball to Wheeler who had earlier got the prized scalp of Neesham.
"It was one of those that could have gone either way so I thought I'd better get a wicket first ball and that probably swung the momentum in our favour," he said, adding he was trying to force the batsmen to go searching the longer boundaries for fours and sixes.
The allrounder got Wilson out off the first delivery of his final and fourth over for 21 runs in a wicked spell of death bowling and Otago were suddenly looking shaky.
Wheeler simply saw it as part of his and Rance portfolio to stifle the Otago batsmen and they had done so with aplomb.
"Seth always manages to take the wickets at the top so the way he came back at the end was good as well."
No doubt there was immense pressure on Wheeler with 13 runs for the Volts to chase down and an over to spare.
A grinning Wheeler said George Worker and spinner Marty Kain's whoopsies on Finnie and Neil Wagner, respectively, almost let Otago off the hook but luck went CD's way.
However, Kain was the most frugal bowler, taking 1-11 from his two overs to go for 5.5 runs an over although Blair Tickner was unlucky not to claim a scalp to go for 6.67 runs an over.
He agreed the CD total was a "just-on-par, maybe a little under" total but gave credit to the Volts for bowling tighter at the end to reel them in.
"We were in a pretty good position to launch but I guess the guys came in and found it tough to score right from ball one but they executed their plans well at the end," said Wheeler, lauding Bruce for his three fours off the last three balls of the innings as the difference.
Bruce, 25, showed the temperament required to bat in the middle order and it wouldn't;t surprise if he catches the national selectors eye this summer.
In fact, CD should promote him above Young to use his bolshy batting earlier in the innings to boost totals.
He said the sun strike was a nuisance for Jesse Ryder who was squinting after facing his first ball at first drop to start his T20 campaign after last playing in the opener of last season's campaign.
"He said it was quite tough to watch a little white ball especially when the guys are bowling around 135 [kmh] to 140," Wheeler said, impressing the park had had similar issues with the sun previously.
Otago vice-captain Michael Bracewell, who stepped up for a hungry captain Hamish Rutherford, after the game was philosophical after the Volts had snuck home to a two-run victory over ND Knights in Dunedin on Thursday.
"It wasn't to be today." Bracewell said after the rub of the wicket went CD's way. "That was a pretty close game the last one and today the middle to lower order showed us the way and nearly got us over the line."
He agreed the top order could have been the difference but Neesham and Finnie showed how to go about building that innings.
However, Bracewell saluted the Stags bowlers for putting the ball in some good areas but acknowledged the lottery nature of the game.
"If you need 13 off the last over we were still going to back ourselves to try get that so it could have gone either way," he said, alluding to 19 runs scored off the final over of the game against ND.
"Wheels obviously bowled that first ball and changed the game and did it dramatically."
Bracewell said sun strike wasn't an issue as it was tough for both sides.
"It's always nice to play at McLean Park on a nice pitch and it's always sunny in the Bay,"
said the cousin of injured Black Caps allrounder Doug Bracewell.