Wellington gun down stiff target

A sporting declaration from Central Districts on the final day at Basin Reserve gave Wellington the opportunity to push for an outright win and the home side's batsmen rose to the challenge, chasing down the target of 310 in 61 overs.

The chances of a Wellington win looked slim when the openers fell early in the pursuit and Stephen Murdoch retired hurt with the score on 96, but they were boosted by three half-centuries in the middle order. Michael Pollard and James Franklin made 65 and 61, and Luke Woodcock contributed an unbeaten 56 to steer his side to a five-wicket victory. Jeetan Patel also made a valuable 24 off 26 balls.

The fourth day was brought to life when Keiran Noema-Barnett declared the Central Districts' second innings on 313 for 5, with a lead of only 309. Resuming overnight on 170 for 3, Central Districts were led by opener Ben Smith, who went on to remain unbeaten on 133. Wellington seamer Brent Arnel finished with 4 for 89, but had Noema-Barnett not declared, the match would certainly have been drawn.

Wellington had also managed to earn first-innings points via a slender lead after they won the toss. Mark Gillespie took six wickets and Arnel claimed four as Central Districts were knocked over for 289 in their first innings in a little over a day. Their top scorers were Will Young, who made 78, and Noema-Barnett, who made 55.

The hosts seemed to be cruising towards a first-innings lead, having reached 140 for 1. However, Wellington lost five wickets for 46 runs, and slipped further to 217 for 8, giving Central Districts a great chance of taking the advantage. Patel held the tail together, though, scoring 62 and adding 76 for the ninth wicket with Andy McKay, who contributed 35 to the stand. They gave Wellington a four-run lead before both batsmen were dismissed with the score on 293. Wellington took 16 points from the game, while Central Districts earned only five.