Cricket: Black Caps and Wellington hitter Tom Blundell in freak Plunket Shield firing

Tom Blundell has gone down in the record books for becoming the second first-class hitter in New Zealand history to be turned over for obstructing the field.

The firing, for 101, came after a long wait for both teams to enter the park on the final day of the Wellington Firebirds-Otago Volts Plunket Shield game at the Basin Reserve, after stormy weather paralyzed play until almost 3:00 p.m. 5 pm.

The Volts had been waiting for a chance to take the last three wickets to win their first Plunket Shield game at Basin Reserve since 2003, while the Firebirds still had two first-order hitters in Black Cap Blundell and concussion substitute Andrew Fletcher. to try and chase 94 more needed for a home win.

But just seven balls into the restart, Blundell’s rare firing caused a quick demise for the hosts as Jacob Duffy snatched eight wickets for the game in a special 84-run victory for the team.

The denouement was also notable for the views in between, the Volts donning blue and gold caps in the frigid conditions, following horizontal rain earlier in the day.

The only previous case of tee-field obstruction on the scorecard of a first-class New Zealand match or Plunket Shield was in December 1953 when Canterbury tailender Johnny Hayes was fired at Christchurch’s now-demolished Lancaster Park against the central districts; And yesterday’s instance was the first since the rules of the ball handled were modified in 2017.

For the Volts, it was a well-executed victory that catapulted the Southerners from fifth to third in the points table. It was also their second Plunket Shield win in four games, having beaten the Stags at Dunedin in the queue last summer.

It left the Firebirds the only team to still have a win heading into next week’s fourth round, an egg the defending champs hope to break against the undefeated Auckland Aces, who will be next in the Basin Reserve.

The Volts are now heading south for their first home game, at Alexandra’s Molyneux Park, against undefeated Canterbury.