Comfortable wins for Canterbury and Auckland

It was a high-scoring affair at Rangiora as Canterbury overhauled Central Districts' 188 to win by four wickets with nine balls to spare. Canterbury were helped by fifties by debutant Tom Latham, Rob Nicol and a quick-fire 30 off 19 balls by Brendon Diamanti to get them there. CD got off to a poor start when they lost Peter Ingram for a duck in the first over, but the experienced Mathew Sinclair resisted with an unbeaten 68. Ross Taylor chipped in with 31 before Doug Bracewell finished off the innings with a 17-ball 36. The Canterbury bowlers struggled to hit the right lengths at the death, but their batsmen were up to the task when presented with a tall target. Their openers, Nicol and George Worker added a quick 47 in just under five overs. A third-wicket stand of 60 between Nicol and Latham took the game away from CD. Diamanti came in at No.6 and slammed two sixes and three fours to guide his team home.

An unbeaten 49 by Martin Guptill helped Auckland ease past Northern Districts in Mount Manganui, and put them in good position towards sealing a spot in the final. It was a walk in the park for Auckland after retricting ND to a paltry 111 and then winning by six wickets. Auckland justified its decision to field first, making incisions in the ND top order. All six bowlers chipped in with wickets, with Bruce Martin and Andre Adams taking three apiece. Corey Anderson top scored with 30 and the next-highest scorer was Daniel Vettori, opening the innings, with 17. Guptill anchored the chase, hitting five fours and a six in his knock. Vettori and Kane Williamson bowled well with the new ball, conceding 17 each off their four overs, but the rest failed to restrict Auckland. Auckland's win gave them 22 points, four ahead of the other victors of the day, Canterbury.

The match between Otago and Wellington at Basin Reserve was washed out without a ball being bowled.