Henry Nicholls maintained his stellar domestic form, hitting twin fifties for Canterbury against Central Districts to make it five 50+ scores in six innings.
Henry Nicholls has five 50+ scores in last six innings across formats
After being put into bat first in the Plunket Shield round seven game, Canterbury captain Nicholls walked in at No.3 in just the fourth over after opener Scott Janett fell for a duck. He constructed two important partnerships – of 101 runs with Rhys Mariu and 60 runs with Matthew Boyle – before being dismissed for 68.
Riding on fifties from Mariu, Nicholls, Boyle and Mitchell Hay, Canterbury posted 334 in their first innings before bowling out Central Districts for 221. The out-of-favour New Zealand batter scored 66, his second fifty in the game, while Leo Carter and Jesse Frew also contributed with a half-century each as Canterbury declared on 325-9, setting Central Districts 439 to win in a little over a day.
The twin fifties took Nicholls’ tally for the 2025/26 Plunket Shield season to 793 runs in 10 innings at 99.12, with three hundreds and four half-centuries, including a top score of 226, which came against Auckland. The knocks mean that the top order batter now has four fifties and a hundred in six innings across formats.
Match 20, Canterbury vs Central Stags
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Nicholls was the top scorer in 2025-26 Ford Trophy
In his last outing in the Plunket Shield, against Wellington, Nicholls scored 44 in the first innings and followed it up with a quickfire 52 in the second to lead his side to a 201-run win. He had come into the Wellington game on the back of 96 not out against Otago in a rain-affected game that ended in a draw.
Prior to that, in the Ford Trophy final against Central Districts, Nicholls, opening the batting for Canterbury, scored a 125-ball 115. Tom Latham made a significant contribution of 80 to take the team to 302-7. But tons from Curtis Heaphy and Will Young took Central Districts past the line in the 48th over.
Nicholls finished the List A competition as its top scorer for the season with 588 runs in 10 matches at 73.50, including four hundreds. He is also leading the Plunket Shield run-scoring charts so far with just one round of games left. Canterbury are perched at the top of the league table as well.
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