Cricket: Stags' secure best outing at overseas event

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Supplied by Central Districts Cricket

The Central Stags are on their way back to New Zealand after their best showing in an overseas tournament.

The ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League was just the third time the team had competed abroad (following 2001’s one-day Champions Cup in Australia, and the 2010 T20 Champions League in South Africa), with the Stags finishing third of the five teams in Guyana.

Fresh off their historic win against BBL champion the Hobart Hurricanes, the team looked to have saved its best for last on Friday, rolling the Global Super League’s defending champion — the Rangpur Riders from Bangladesh, for just 79 in 13.5 overs.

That was the GSL’s record low total, from a side that had already once again qualified for the final.

However, heavy rain washed away a golden opportunity for the Stags’ batters to chase that down that modest target for a second win at the tournament.

The match had already been weather-delayed by 45 minutes and was twice reduced by the scudding stormclouds — first to 17 overs per side, then to 14.

When rain set in again at the innings break, the covers came back on for good.

Although the extra point for a win was no longer on the table, the shared points for the washout were enough to elevate the Stags to third spot on the table.

The Super Smash champs finished ahead of both BBL champion the Hobart Hurricanes and the Dubai Capitals franchise, while the Rangpur Riders got to write off a tough day at the office against the Antipodean upstarts.

Rangpur went on to lose the GSL title to hosts the Guyana Amazon Warriors the following evening, while the Stags can look back on their progression through their first appearance in the tournament and in the Caribbean with pride.

It was their first experience, as a team, in such slow, sub-continent-like conditions and, while it took them a couple of brutal matches to adjust with the bat, they bowled well and fielded sharply throughout, culminating in their polished and ruthless rout of the Riders.

Hawke’s Bay off-spinner Angus Schaw had taken a wicket with his first ball of the tournament. Against Rangpur, he took a wicket with the second ball of the day, after opening the Stags’ attack with fellow spinner Jayden Lennox, opposing captain Nurul Hasan having opted to bat.

Schaw walked away with his T20 career best figures of 3/13, and took a difficult catch to boot — running backwards to give spin twin Lennox his first victim at 15/2 in the fourth over.

Left-armer Lennox’s own first over had been a maiden — a T20 rarity. He finished with excellent figures of 3/6 off 2.5 overs, taking the final two Bangladeshi wickets in the final over to dismiss them with a ball to spare.

Schaw’s tight three-for meanwhile saw him finish as one of the top wicket-takers overall in Guyana, and the best of the Stags. His nine wickets at a tight average of 10.77 ranked him in the top three bowlers at the Super League.

Blair Tickner wasn’t far behind, the big paceman nabbing eight wickets at 12.97 to finish in the top four wicket-takers at the tournament.

He impressed in the final match with 3/17, bowling in conditions that weren’t conducive to his natural game.

With his fierce mix of aggression and pace-off deliveries, Tickner inflicted major damage on the Riders after a lengthy mid-innings rain interruption, bundling out Mahidul Islam Ankon, Iftikhar Ahmed and Nurul Hasan to put Rangpur on notice at 66/6.

The Stags’ 21-year-old Toby Findlay meanwhile enjoyed his only trot of the trip with 1/17 off his three overs, and also contributed a fine catch, running backwards to help dismiss dangerous first drop Saif Hassan off Schaw.

Star spinner Ajaz Patel ran the drinks, having picked up a niggle after tidy work in the first three games. Patel now heads to Zimbabwe for the BLACKCAPS Test series, alongside Will Young.

“Unfortunately we were a little bit slow out of the box with the bat in this short tournament,” said opening batter Young, “but we learn quickly, and it was awesome to get the win against the Hurricanes in our third game.”

Findlay, who played a key role in winning the Super Smash final earlier this year, was playing just the eighth T20 of his career.

“The decks were a bit slower over here and the bounce was a bit inconsistent, so it was harder for the batters to time it,” Findlay said.

But the team was proud of the way they improved with every match.

“It was an awesome experience for us, and an awesome group to be a part of. Everyone had each other’s back.”

Hosts the Guyana Amazon Warriors went on to lift the trophy for the first time, after beating top qualifier the Rangpur Riders by 32 runs in a high-scoring finale.

The Central Stags received US$25,000 (NZ$41,200) for their win against the Hurricanes. The team arrived home to New Zealand on Tuesday.