Richardson in form as Auckland eye win
A round-up of the latest first-class matches in New Zealand
Lynn McConnell
02-Dec-2003
Northern Districts 130 and 120 (Adams 4-41, Mills 3-36) lead Auckland 141 (Richardson 55, Orchard 3-20, Yovich 3-31) and 31 for 0 by 79 runs
Mark Richardson carried Auckland through to a first innings lead with a
typically defiant innings to top-score with 55 before being the eighth man
dismissed at 131. Bruce Martin, the left-arm spinner, helped bring about the
end of the Auckland innings with 2 for 8 in the morning session. Mark Orchard ended with 3 for 20 and Joseph Yovich 3 for 31.
In their second innings Northern Districts struggled against the Auckland
pace attack as Andre Adams claimed four more wickets, for 41 runs, to give
him nine from the match. Kyle Mills backed him well with 3 for 36. Grant
Robinson and Nick Horsley, two of the better first-innings performers, were to the fore again, Robinson scoring 33 and Horsley 27.
By stumps, which came early due to bad light, Auckland were comfortably
placed on 31 without loss, with Richardson and Lou Vincent looking
untroubled.
Central Districts 139 and 195 (Taylor 64, Penn 4-55) lead Wellington 105 (Sherlock 4-33) and 19 for 0 by 211 runs
Given the way play had fluctuated at the Basin Reserve, Wellington could take
nothing for granted as they ended the day needing another 211 for victory. Wellington were dismissed 34 runs short of Central Districts' first innings
score with Richard Sherlock capping a fine debut by taking 4 for 33. He was
just about to bowl in the second innings when play was abandoned due to bad
light.
The fine 100-run stand between Ross Taylor and Glen Sulzberger may yet prove
to be a significant bonus for Central Districts. The pair produced the best batting of the innings, with Taylor flailing the Wellington bowling in achieving his
career-best score of 64, off 66 balls, while Sulzberger scored 37. Their
effort was backed up by Bevan Griggs, who added 28 to see the team through to 195. Andrew Penn was in fine touch, taking 4 for 55 while Mark Gillespie took 3
for 34 and Iain O'Brien 3 for 51.
Wellington were 19 without loss at stumps. Matthew Bell was on 13 and Grant
Donaldson on 5.
Canterbury 375 (Fulton 114, Broom 53, Wisneski 40, Wilson 5-82) lead Otago 134 for 5 (Lawson 40*, Wiseman 3-34) by 241 runs
Canterbury's tail wagged to cause more problems for Otago at Timaru, and by
stumps Otago were struggling to hold on in their own innings. Earlier, Jeff Wilson showed how much better prepared he was for his second season after giving up his professional rugby career, taking 5 for 82 as Canterbury were all out for 375.
When he took his fourth wicket, Wilson achieved his 100th first-class wicket. He ended up with 5 for 82, his sixth five-for in first-class cricket. His haul was good reward for 34.1 overs of application.
Otago's innings began with a solid start until Andrew Hore, the opener, was
run out. And when Paul Wiseman was introduced, he quickly got among the Otago middle order. With fieldsmen surrounding the bat, Otago struggled to reach 134 for 5 by stumps, a position achieved thanks largely to a patient innings of 40 not out by Robert Lawson. Chris Gaffaney scored 36 while Wiseman ended the day with 3 for 34 from 11 overs.