Stewart Rhodes anchors Wellington win

Wellington joined Northern Districts at the top of the points table in the HRV Cup after they beat Central Districts by eight wickets at the Saxton Oval in Nelson.

Central Districts chose to bat and looked well-placed for a big total after Peter Ingram (46) and George Worker (31) put on 77 for the first wicket in the first 10 overs. However, once offspinner Jeetan Patel struck to dismiss Worker and Ingram, within the space of 12 balls, the Central Districts batting fell away. Luke Woodcock picked up the crucial wickets of Ian Blackwell, Michael Yardy and Mathew Sinclair in quick succession. This was followed by two run-outs and Central Districts crumbled from a healthy 93 for 2 to a below-par 128 for 8, losing six wickets for 35 runs.

A required-rate of just above six runs per over was never going to test the Wellington batting line-up. Though they lost Michael Pollard in the second over, Stewart Rhodes, with an unbeaten 75 off 60 balls, anchored the Wellington chase. They reached the target in 19.2 overs for the loss of only two wickets.