Colin Munro‘s 60-ball 104 put Auckland briskly on course to chase down the 284 they needed to win the Ford Trophy title before Mark Chapman anchored an unbroken 32-run stand for the ninth wicket to help them seal it. Otago’s Jacob Duffy took a four-wicket haul, which included the wicket of Martin Guptill for a second-ball duck at the start of the chase, and then the wicket of Munro to leave Auckland 149 for 4 at the start of the 21st over. But the rest of Otago’s bowling, barring Michael Rippon, proved expensive as they used eight bowlers in an innings that only last 44 overs.
Munro’s blitz was built around 12 fours and seven sixes even as the rest of a substantial top-four line-up – Guptill, Jeet Raval, Glenn Phillips – failed to make an impact. Munro put on 67 with Phillips, who scored 20, and then 43 with Chapman before being bowled by Duffy.
One of the defining partnerships of the match for Auckland came for the sixth wicket. Wicketkeeper Ben Horne made 42 off 31 and dominated a 63-run stand with Chapman that took Auckland from 173 for 5 to 236 before Duffy returned to dismiss Horne. Shortly after, Duffy removed Kyle Jamieson and Nathan Smith got rid of Lockie Ferguson to leave Auckland 253 for 8. Chapman, who had held one end, then took the attack to Otago and ensured the remaining runs were scored within four overs of that last wicket. No. 10 Benjamin Lister made an unbeaten 1 off 8 at the other end as Chapman took Auckland to their second title in three years with three sixes off Dean Foxcroft in the 44th over, and stayed unbeaten on 84 off 78 balls.
Earlier, Otago had flown to 59 with their opening stand before losing both their openers in the same over. While wicketkeeper Mitch Renwick was run-out off the fourth ball of the eighth over, Hamish Rutherford, who was on 36 off 25, was struck on the helmet by a Ferguson bouncer and went off with a concussion. He was replaced by Matthew Bacon, a bowler, who was the last man in for Otago.
In the middle, they had another concussion scare, when Foxcroft collided with Phillips on the field. He cleared the concussion test and went on to make 42 from No. 5 but Otago’s batting collapsed in the middle overs. From 150 for 2, they lost the set Neil Broom for 39 and then Josh Finnie and Smith both fell to the part-time spin of Phillips. Ferguson then got rid of Foxcroft, and Phillips picked up a career-best three-wicket haul with the wicket of Rippon. That left Otago 187 for 7 and it was only Anaru Kitchen‘s 54-ball 60 and Duffy’s 24 off 26 that lifted them to 283 from that point.