RESULT: Wellington Firebirds won by 44 runs
The Firebirds made it two from two in the opening salvos of the Plunket Shield, after beating Canterbury outright in a record-setting Basin Reserve runfest.
Chasing 358 on the last afternoon and with just 76 of those left to find in the final session, Canterbury gave it a solid crack - reaching 313 in 74 overs before Malcolm Nofal (4-100) claimed their final wicket to seal 19-point win.
The second victory on the bounce means the top of the table Firebirds have dropped just one point from the 40 possible points up for grabs from the first two rounds.
Earlier, recalled Firebirds allrounder Jamie Gibson made a ballistic start to the final morning as the hosts looked to slap on quick runs to their sizeable match tally before their declaration.
Gibson's knock of 43 flying off just 18 balls, he blasted four sixes in the handful of overs it took to take their overnight score from 186/6 to 247/6 at the declaration - a whirlwind quarter of an hour, 54 runs in just three overs!
That set Canterbury a chase of 358 to win, with the bulk of three sessions in front of them. Chad Bowes and Tom Latham got the first 50 on the board before the aggressive Bowes fell victim to Iain McPeake, putting a stop to his racy 27-ball 40.
Latham was more restrained, but a huge loss when he was caught off Logan van Beek, at 86 for three after almost an hour and half of the tantalising chase.
With Nofal already having snaffled first drop Stephen Murdoch cheaply, it set en train a middle order collapse.
Todd Astle (33 off 15) and then Matt Henry (43 off 40) were forced to up the ante in the scurry for runs, batting around a rearguard anchor in Cam Fletcher - until Gibson's enjoyable day continued with his maiden first-class wicket.
The Canterbury tail fought admirably after Gibson struck again - this time removing the critical wicket of Fletcher, who had knuckled down for almost and hour and a half for his 26.
Will Williams (36*), Andrew Hazeldine (36) and Ed Nuttall collectively found a further 81 runs in a riveting last session to get them close, but the loss of the eighth wicket left Nuttall exposed. Twenty-one minutes later the Firebirds were back in the home changing room, about to sing the song once again.
Article added: Friday 01 November 2019