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The State Auckland Aces held their nerve to deny a tenacious State Central Stags and emerge victorious in the State Championship Final.
The Aces celebrated the end of New Zealand's cricket summer with a deserved five-wicket win on the fifth and final day.
Chasing 188, they were teetered at 41 for three and then 104 for five before an unbeaten stand of 84 between Gareth Hopkins and Colin de Grandhomme proved decisive.
Auckland have won four of the last eight State Championship titles although this is their first for four years.
Sitting mid-pack before Christmas, they went on to produce three outright wins out of four matches in the second half of their campaign.
NZPA
