Logan van Beek’s century at the Cello Basin Reserve this afternoon completed a rare feat by the Wellington Firebirds allrounder

Yesterday, Logan van Beek opened the New Zealand first-class cricket season with his ninth first-class five-wicket bag. 

Today he added his second first-class century to become the first Kiwi cricketer to achieve a first-class ‘double’ in the same match for two different NZ Domestic teams – having also taken a bag and scored a century in the same match for Canterbury in October 2015 (view match report here).

Only one other man has achieved the feat in New Zealand first-class history and you have to scroll all the way back to 1918 when Jack Crawford (an England Test allrounder playing domestically in New Zealand) achieved the feat for Wellington at Eden Park, to add to the double he had achieved for Otago against Wellington at the Cello Basin Reserve in 1914/15.

Now the same ground has witnessed more all-round history, van Beek joining a very short list of Kiwi allrounders to have twice taken a bag and scored a century in the same match, a list that includes luminaries John R. Reid and Martin Crowe.

It’s the first Plunket Shield ‘double’ since Mitchell Santner’s all-round effort for Northern Districts against the Central Stags at Bay Oval two seasons ago, and just the 45th instance overall in New Zealand first-class cricket (including Test matches – with Ian Botham having twice achieved the double for England against the BLACKCAPS).

For the Wellington Firebirds, it’s the first double since John Morrison’s 106 and 5/69 at Eden Park in 1977/78.

Van Beek took 5/35 yesterday to help dismiss the Auckland Aces for 184 in the opening Plunket Shield championship round of the season, and today his effort with the bat reached 101 before he was dismissed by Jordan Sussex, Wellington taking a first innings lead of 86 into the second innings this afternoon.

Scores: Wellington Firebirds v Auckland Aces at Cello Basin Reserve, Wellington