Ingram hundred inspires CD victory

Central Districts 291 for 7 (Ingram 104, Sinclair 79*) beat Northern Districts 245 (McGlashan 56, Diamanti 5-58) by 46 runs
Scorecard

A whirlwind hundred from Peter Ingram and a five-wicket haul from Brendon Diamanti helped Central Districts wrap up a comfortable 46-run win over Northern Districts at Hamilton. Choosing to bat, CD were given a good platform by Ingram and the opener Geoff Barnett (45) - he has represented Canada in four ODIs - before Mathew Sinclair added some extra push.

Ingram was the aggressor in a Seddon Park-record third-wicket stand of 143 with Sinclair, hitting ten fours and a pair of sixes in his 96-ball innings. His dismissal for 104 sparked a middle-order collapse at the hands of Mark Orchard, who was included in a 30-man preliminary squad for the World Cup, but Sinclair rallied to move to an unbeaten 79, and Diamanti slogged a 13-ball 21 to help CD to a very competitive 291 for 7.

In response, ND began slowly but steadily, the openers Alun Evans (33) and Anton Devcich (35) adding 66, but the response from the rest of the batsmen was below par. Diamanti, a right-arm medium pacer, removed the openers quickly, and Campbell Furlong, the offspinner, claimed 3 for 44 to make it 147 for 5.

Only Peter McGlashan, the wicketkeeper who produced a fighting 56 from 78 balls, and Orchard's 35-ball 39 lower down the order delayed the result. Diamanti returned for three more wickets as ND folded for 245 in the 48th over. Both sides sit in the bottom half of the State Shield table with nine points each.