Central Districts eke out narrow win

Central Districts moved up to third in the HRV Cup points table after a narrow three-run win over Canterbury at the Village Green in Christchurch. In a match shortened to 10 overs because of rain, Canterbury opted to field first, and allrounder Johannes van der Wath instantly justified the decision by ripping through CD's top order, taking three wickets from his two overs, to leave them reeling at 10 for 4. That quickly became 11 for 5 in the fourth over when Andrew Ellis snapped up the dangerous Kieran Noema-Barnett for 1. However, England's Michael Yardy and Doug Bracewell retrieved the situation somewhat with a couple of cameos - Yardy making 24 from 20 and Bracewell 22 from 13, to take CD to 73 for 8.

Rob Nicol and Peter Fulton got Canterbury off to a good start, adding 34 in four overs before Fulton was caught off Bracewell for 18. His dismissal triggered a surprising collapse, with five more wickets falling for just 23 runs. At that stage, Canterbury needed 17 from the final two overs with four wickets in hand. They managed nine from the ninth over, but lost van der Wath for 5 off the last ball from Ben Wheeler. Ellis and Reece Young then reduced the equation to four needed from two, but fast bowler Michael Mason held his nerve to dismiss Ellis for 5 and Young was then run-out off the last ball to hand CD the victory. Mason finished with 3 for 12 from his two overs.

The games between Auckland and Wellington and Northern Districts and Otago were both rained out without a ball being bowled, with the teams getting two point each.

Auckland remain top of the table on 20 points, ahead of Northern Districts with 18. CD and Canterbury are both on 12 points, with the former ahead on net run-rate.