It's a quick switch from red-ball to white-ball and back again with the CENTRAL STAGS in the frame to win two national trophies in the next 10 days!

It starts with the FREE admission 2023 Ford Trophy Grand Final at Napier's McLean Park from 11am this Tuesday 28 March, top qualifier the Central Stags out to beat our great rivals Canterbury!

The match is free admission for the Hawke's Bay public after a tough month of cyclone recovery, and it's the first national final to be contested at McLean Park since 2001 - when the very same two teams met in a best-of-three Finals series that was spread across both Napier and Christchurch.

The Stags won that Series 2-1, and these two classic rivals have contested several more Ford Trophy Finals against each other in the intervening 22 years.

Canterbury most recently won The Ford Trophy in 2021 and 2017 while the Stags lifted the crown back-to-back in 2015 (against the Auckland Aces) and 2016 (against Canterbury in a showstopper at Pukekura Park).

The Central Stags head in as the top qualifier for the second year running this summer, but succumbed to the Auckland Aces in last year's trophy showdown in Queenstown.

They are eager to put things right and deliver a much more convincing performance for their home supporters and cricket community in Hawke's Bay, with gates opening at 10am this Tuesday 28 March.

The national one-day title goes on the line at McLean Park from 11am with a bucket collection (and EFTPOS) at the gate for the official Hawke's Bay cyclone relief fund.

 

Bid now here on TradeMe.

PLUS! You can support our fundraiser by bidding on TradeMe for ROSS TAYLOR's own autographed batting helmet plus a team Ford Trophy playing shirt (which the team will autograph!)

 

2023 FORD TROPHY GRAND FINAL

Central Stags v Canterbury

11am Tuesday, 28 March 2023

McLean Park, Napier

• FREE admission fundraiser match

• Gates open 10am

• Open seating, Harris grandstand or bank

• Spectator FAQ - what can I bring into the park?

• Free livestream with commentary here at www.cdcricket.co.nz

The same two teams are also now the only two contenders left in the running now for the 2022/23 Plunket Shield first-class championship!

Yesterday's outright Plunket Shield victories to Canterbury in Rangiora and to the Central Stags in Palmerston North mean they are the last two survivors in the tightly contested race for this season's New Zealand first-class championship, the history-laden Plunket Shield.

The Stags are coming off both white-ball and red-ball wins | MBUTCHER

Canterbury is finished for the Plunket Shield season, but our Stags excitingly still have a red-ball game in hand - staying in reach of the Shield after an Ajaz Patel six-for helped them set up a five-wicket victory against the Otago Volts.

Canterbury is top of the first-class ladder at the moment on 101 points, but have completed their first-class matches.

So the Stags need an outright win - 12 points - against the Auckland Aces at Saxton Oval, Nelson (1-4 April) to deny Canterbury the trophy - with a nervous wait in store for the red and blacks.

In the meantime, there will be an opportunity to get in some banter when these very two teams, the Stags and Canterbury, meet in The Ford Trophy Grand Final!

 

 

Article added: Saturday 25 March 2023