Wellington pacer Michael Snedden became the fourth member of his family to take a first-class five-wicket haul on Thursday, March 19.
In the Plunket Shield round seven match against Auckland, Snedden returned figures of 5-56 but couldn’t prevent his side from conceding a first-innings lead. Batting first in the four-day game, Wellington scored 309, but Auckland took a 105-run lead by making 414.
All but three batters got into double digits for Wellington, but none could convert their starts into something substantial. Captain and wicketkeeper-batter Tom Blundell top-scored with 96, while middle-order batter Muhammad Abbas (42) and opener Jesse Tashkoff, with a quickfire 37, were the chief contributors to the team’s total.
In reply, Auckland got off to a rocky start, with Dale Phillips departing for a duck. Luke Watson (86) and captain Sean Solia (17) steadied the innings, adding 48 runs for the second wicket. Watson added another 58 important runs with Sid Dixit, who became Snedden’s first wicket, having him caught at first slip.
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After Watson’s dismissal reduced Auckland to 145-4, the duo of Lachlan Stackpole and Simon Keene (62) added 152 runs for the fifth wicket. Stackpole brought up his second first-class hundred off 99 deliveries, while Keene completed his fifty off 54 balls. Keene and No.7 Ryan Harrison were the next to depart, when Snedden returned for his second spell to clean up the tail.
His five-wicket haul included three in an over, when he dismissed Marco Alpe and Adi Ashok on consecutive deliveries before sending Samrath Singh back to make it three wickets in four balls. He then got through the defence of Rohit Gulati to complete his maiden first-class five-for and bowl out Auckland for 414.
Match 19, Wellington Firebirds vs Auckland Aces
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Michael Snedden follows footsteps of family members to register maiden first-class five-for
Michael is the fourth member of his family to take five wickets in a first-class innings. His great-grandfather, Nessie Snedden, had four five-fors in first-class cricket, while his father, Martin Snedden, had 15 five-wicket hauls in first-class matches, including one in Tests.
Both his great-grandfather and father were right-arm seamers. His grandfather’s brother, Colin Snedden, also picked up a five-wicket haul in first-class cricket with his off-spin.
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