Otago or Wellington to meet Auckland in final

Otago or Wellington to meet Auckland in final
New Zealand Cricket - 17 November 2001

The State Otago Volts defeated the State Canterbury Wizards and last year's champions, the State Wellington Firebirds, were beaten by the State Auckland Aces on the second day of the State Max Cricket Tournament being played at North Harbour Stadium.

State Otago Volts v State Canterbury Wizards

The State Canterbury Wizards low first innings total of 85/4 proved to be their undoing when they were defeated with only one ball to spare by the State Otago Volts. The 10-run advantage the State Otago Volts gained in the first innings by reaching 95/5 looked like it would be far too much for the State Canterbury Wizards when the second innings was reduced to six overs because of rain. However the State Canterbury Wizards managed 73/4 off their six overs with Warren Wisneski and Brad Doody smashing 19 off the first over of the second innings. This left the State Otago Volts needing 64 runs off six overs to win the match. For most of their second innings this total looked a long way off, until Craig Pryor took the game by the scruff of the neck for the State Otago Volts hitting 15 runs off four balls from Chris Harris in the final over to seal the match.

State Canterbury Wizards 85/4 (B Doody 25; C Cumming 2-14) and 73/4 (C Harris 17*; K Walmsley 3-13) lost to State Otago Volts 95/5 (A Hore 27, C Pryor 25; S Cunis 2-30) and 70/2 (A Hore 28, C Pryor 15*).

State Auckland Aces v State Wellington Firebirds

The State Auckland Aces, batting second, amassed a large first innings total of 121/5. This gave them a comfortable 41-run lead over the State Wellington Firebirds who could only manage 80/8 in their first innings. All the Auckland bowlers bowled tightly and a quick-fire 51 off only 22 balls from Andre Adams helped them gain their large first innings lead. In the State Wellington Firebirds second innings they were again restricted by good bowling and managed only 76/6 off their 10 overs. This left the State Auckland Aces requiring only 36 to win from their second innings, which they reached in the third over for the loss of only two wickets.

State Wellington Firebirds 80/8 (R Petrie 20; C Drum 2-23) and 76/6 (S Golder 25; A Adams 2-11, K Mills 2-26) lost to the State Auckland Aces v 121/5 (A Adams 51, L Howell 20) and 36/2 (K Mills 15*).

Tomorrow's matches live on Sky, are:

9.45am - State Max Semi-final - State Otago Volts v State Wellington Firebirds

2.00pm - State Max Final - State Auckland Aces v Winner of Game One

(The State Wellington Firebirds received a 'life' in this year's tournament for being a finalist in last year's tournament. This 'life' has now been used up in today's loss to the State Auckland Aces.)

Teams	New Zealand.
Players/Umpires	Warren Wisneski, Brad Doody, Craig Pryor, Chris Harris, Craig Cumming, Kerry Walmsley, Andrew Hore, Stephen Cunis, Andre Adams, Richard Petrie, Chris Drum, Scott Golder, Kyle Mills, Llorne Howell.