Will Young, Heaphy powers Central Stags to Ford Trophy title win over Canterbury

Will Young and Curtis Heaphy put together a partnership of 257 runs, setting a new Central Districts record for the second wicket in the Ford Trophy, as the Stags roared to the one-day title and prevented Canterbury from achieving a three-peat at the Basin Reserve. This was CD's eighth overall and first one-day title since 2022-23. In the 2025–26 Ford Trophy, Canterbury captain Henry Nicholls scored his fourth century, putting his team on track to reach 302 for 7, but it was in vain as CD reached the target with six wickets and 13 balls remaining. Nicholls won the toss and chose to bat. He reached his first fifty off 49 balls. When he turned it into a hundred off 112 balls, he tied George Worker, a former Auckland Aces batter, for the most Ford Trophy centuries in a single summer with four. After Canterbury lost Chad Bowes to all-rounder Josh Clarkson in the third over, Nicholls had great support from fellow Black Cap Tom Latham, who scored 80 off 86 balls. After that, Young and Heaphy beat Nicholls and Latham to the punch, turning what could have been a difficult chase into a cruise. They joined at 19 for 1 in the fourth over and remained together until the 43rd over. By that time, Canterbury had surpassed 275 and held the trophy in one hand. Dean Foxcroft tapped the ball to mid-on in the 48th over, joining Clarkson, who had set up the final for CD with Bowes' opening wicket. Soon after, they got both their hands on the trophy. The chase's focal point was the Young-Heaphy stand. Heaphy demonstrated the potential to become a future Black Cap with his 105 off 124 balls, while Young scored a List A career-best 157 off 132 balls. Heaphy, who has also played for the New Zealand A teams, won the 2024–25 Ford Trophy with the most runs. In addition, he had made a significant contribution to CD's first T20 victory outside of New Zealand by scoring an unbeaten fifty off 38 balls against Hobart Hurricanes in the Global Super League last year in spin-friendly Guyana. After keeping wicket for 50 overs on Sunday, Heaphy came out to open the batting and continued for almost 43 overs. Heaphy wasn't supposed to keep wicket in this final, but when Dane Cleaver got hurt in the back, Heaphy did double duty. Heaphy, stepping in from behind the stumps and frequently shimmying out of the crease to disrupt the lengths and lines of Canterbury's attack, showed no signs of fatigue in front of it. Young showed some delightful movies and drives at the other end. He was particularly rough with rookie spinner Raunaq Kapur, who had previously represented Hong Kong in international cricket and scored 36 runs off 19 deliveries. With a pair of fours, he went from 144 to 150, and even though Heaphy and Young fell late in the game, CD never lost. "It's kind of like the stuff of dreams. "It's fantastic," Heaphy declared. "It was wonderful to be able to bat with him [Young] and someone with such experience, and it was also nice to have someone to help us through a chase. It was a pleasure to make a final contribution, and he made my job easier. Young gave a positive assessment of Heaphy's progress. Young stated that Curty showed up against Canterbury in Nelson and saved his runs for the Wellington final. "He's learning his craft, he's really good at filling the crease, and he's starting to put bowlers under pressure again. When he does that, he's a great player. He demonstrated his capabilities today. Curty makes me very happy. After Canterbury's association granted him an early release from his coaching contract, Peter Fulton's final assignment was this one. Prior to the 2026 season, Fulton will sign a three-year contract with Middlesex to serve as their head coach.