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Kai Schwoerer / Getty Images
Canterbury Chad Bowes broke an undefeated 39 of 14 balls.
Canterbury has kept the winless Auckland Aces rooted at the bottom of the Super Smash table after a rare fixture of five at the Eden Park Outer Oval.
After rain swept through the women’s game between Hearts and Magicians, and forced a long delay in the start of the men’s clash, the umpires managed to score five overs each, the minimum required to constitute a T20 match.
The Aces looked to have a decent chance to break their season duck when Mark Chapman (25 of 13) returned from injury to lead the hosts to 52-4 in the first inning.
But after dropping a Chapman catch babysitter in the second over, Chad Bowes made amends, throwing an undefeated 39 of 14 at the top of the order to propel Canterbury to a 10 wicket win with three balls to spare.
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Having won the toss, Canterbury captain Cole McConchie did not hesitate to pitch first and the decision paid off almost immediately when Ed Nuttall eliminated Glenn Phillips (1) with the fourth ball of the game.
While Bowes left Chapman off the hook early, Will Williams didn’t miss two balls later when Aces captain Robert O’Donnell (4) tried to throw Sean Davey to the ground.
Chapman began to find the middle of the bat in the third over with the Aces throwing 15 runs against Todd Astle.
But he couldn’t control a wide delivery from Williams in the fourth, sending his direct shot to Leo Carter on the edge.
Ben Horne hit 13, not seven to push the run rate above 10 per over, but Bowes made sure a ruthless display of hitting power wasn’t enough.
What made Canterbury’s innings even more impressive was the fact that ace finisher Ben Lister conceded just two runs in the opening.
Bowes provided the perfect answer with four straight and a six from Ross ter Braak, while starter Ken McClure jumped in when he sent spinner Louis Delport’s first ball over the limit.
Auckland was still in the game heading into the penultimate over before Bowes’ two more sixes versus Will Somerville turned the game in favor of the visitors, with nine required in the last over.
Any remaining pressure on the Kings duo quickly disappeared when Bowes broke one of the last six with Danru Ferns’ first ball. That left McClure, who played the perfect anchor role for such a short competition at 15-for-13, to clinch Canterbury’s second win of as many cap games.
Canterbury is now in second place via net run rate with eight points, four points behind Wellington, with the Kings with one game in hand.
They return to action against the Central Stags at Hagley Oval next Sunday, while Auckland has to wait until the next day for a chance to break off the mark when they travel south for the rematch.
At Eden Park Outer Oval, Auckland: Auckland Aces 52-4 in five overs (Mark Chapman 25 of 13; Sean Davey 1-8) lost to Canterbury Kings 55-0 in 4.3 overs (Chad Bowes 39th of 14) through 10 windows.
Stuff MVP Points: Chad Bowes 3, Ken McClure 2, Mark Chapman 1.
