Canterbury win at a canter

Canterbury 310 beat Northern Districts 90 and 165 by an innings and 55 runs
Scorecard

Canterbury romped to a convincing victory at Gisborne as they defeated Northern Districts by an innings and 55 runs within two days. Resuming on their overnight score of 265 for 8, Canterbury added another 45 runs for the last two wickets. In reply, Northern Districts lost all 20 wickets in the day, after their reply got off to a nightmare start.

They were soon reeling at 8 for 3, a position from which they never recovered. Chris Martin and Paul Wiseman did most of the damage, taking three wickets apiece. Northern's second innings didn't get off to a much better start, either, as they found themselves folding again: this time they were wobbling at 30 for 4. Joseph Yovich (59) and Mark Orchard (37) set about restoring some pride, as they put on 81 for the fourth wicket. But when their partnership was broken at 122, the writing was on the wall. The last six wickets fell for 43 to complete a miserable day.

Auckland 318 for 4 (Nichol 100, Vincent 152) trail Otago 348 by 30 runs
Scorecard

Rob Nichol and Lou Vincent shared a stand of 244 to launch Auckland into a strong position on day two against Otago. Auckland ended the day trailing by 30 runs with six wickets in hand following the second double century stand of the match. Resuming on their overnight total of 348 for 9, Otago got off to a disastrous start as, without a further run added, Bradley Scott was dismissed for 96. His nemesis was Kerry Walmsley, who picked up five wickets in the process. The table-topping Auckland made a strong start to their reply, with Nichol making 100 and Vincent 152. Auckland now need just another 30 runs to secure first innings points.

Central Districts 106 for 8 (Thompson 4-81, Sulzberger 4-89) trail Wellington 402 (Bell 118) by 296 runs
Scorecard

Wellington fought back strongly with the ball after Central Districts had removed their final seven wickets for 81 runs on day two at Napier. Wellington resumed on 321 for 3 but were soon 402 all out, before their bowlers took charge, reducing Central Districts to 106 for 8 by the close.

Matthew Bell moved on to 118 for Wellington, while Glen Sulzberger and Ewen Thompson grabbed four wickets each. Then Mark Gillespie took for 3 for 16 for Wellington, with Peter Ingram (45) the only batsman offering resistance for Central.