Cricket: McIntosh to miss one-day final

Tim McIntosh. Photo / Getty Images

A toe injury has ruled Auckland opener Tim McIntosh out of Sunday's domestic one-day cricket final against Canterbury.

The test batsmen failed a fitness test in Auckland today and will be replaced in the 13-strong squad for the match at Christchurch's QEII Park by Brad Cachopa.

McIntosh picked up the injury during his match-winning innings of 161 from 138 balls in Auckland's 65-run semi-final defeat of Otago on Wednesday and coach Paul Strang said the team will miss his presence.

"Tim has been in great form and his innings on Wednesday was something special. But our whole top order has been performing throughout the competition. In some ways it gives us a bit of extra motivation to go down there and win," he said.

The loss of the in-form lefthander is a blow for Auckland who must find a way to limit the effectiveness of one of their former players if they want to add a second piece of domestic cricket silverware to their trophy cabinet.

Allrounder Rob Nicol, who played eight seasons for Auckland before shifting south in 2009, has been the standout performer in the 50-over game this domestic season, dominating the batting averages and chiming in with handy bowling performances.

The opener, who leads the most valuable player standings for the competition by a country mile, averages a smidge over 66 while amassing 529 runs in eight innings.

He has failed with the bat just the once, scoring five fifties and a 105 against Central Districts and has taken 14 wickets with his more than handy off-spin.

He was overlooked for selection in New Zealand's World Cup 15-man squad and will have to wait for the chance to add to his two Twenty20 international caps.

When the two teams met in their preliminary final at the same venue last Sunday, Nicol backed up his innings of 87 with two for 44 with the ball as Canterbury cruised to a 41-run win.

It meant Auckland, who already have this season's Twenty20 Cup to their name, had to defeat Otago on Wednesday.

McIntosh led the way as they racked up 340 for five which proved well out of reach for Otago.

His absence means that Auckland are likely to rely heavily on former international Lou Vincent and captain Gareth Hopkins at the top of the order.

Aside from Nicol's efforts, captain Peter Fulton, allrounder Andrew Ellis and Australian quick bowler Mitchell Claydon have led the way for Canterbury this season.

- NZPA