Wiseman dazzles in Canterbury win

Canterbury 346 and 400 for 6 dec beat Central Districts 281 and 122 (Wiseman 9-13) by 343 runs
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A sensational spell of bowling from Paul Wiseman for Canterbury resulted in the second-best haul in an innings in New Zealand cricket history. Wiseman took nine for 13 off 16.4 overs as CD slumped to 122 all out, and defeat by 343 runs. Only AE Moss, who took 10 for 28 for Canterbury in the summer of 1889-90 on his first-class debut, has done better.

It was a stunning performance in a match where the bat had dominated the ball, but Wiseman said afterwards that it was an ideal pitch for spin bowling because of the bounce it possessed and the footmarks left by Central Districts' two left-arm medium-fast bowlers.

What was expected to be an all-day battle for CD was over before lunch with Wiseman joining three other bowlers in New Zealand to have taken nine wickets in this country, not forgetting Sir Richard Hadlee's nine wickets in an innings at Brisbane in 1985-86.

Chris Martin was the only other wicket taker in the innings, having taken Jamie How's wicket, the first to fall in the innings. CD were two down overnight and then Wiseman struck, as eight wickets fell for 24 runs.

Northern Districts 368 and 187 for 2 (Watling 64, Hart 43*) beat Otago 321 and 231 (Cumming 106, Hopkins 42, Yovich 4-42, Aldridge 3-55) by eight wickets
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Otago needed to bat well into the second session to be in a position to deny Northern Districts an outright win at Gisborne's Harry Barker Reserve but they were unable to prevent an eight-wicket defeat. Craig Cumming, the Otago captain, achieved his 10th first-class century after being 99 not out overnight, but could add only seven more runs before being dismissed. The end came all too quickly, with the last five wickets falling for 12 runs as Joseph Yovich and Graeme Aldridge cleaned up the innings. Yovich took 4 for 42 and Aldridge 3 for 55.

This was a remarkable win, with the highlight being four young players making their debuts in the same game. One of them, Brad Wilson, who just missed a century on debut in the first innings, was unfazed by the importance of the job ahead of him as ND chased down the 186 they needed for victory. Wilson scored another 35, while BJ Watling, who debuted earlier in the season, scored 64. Matt Hart, the side's old hand, was there when the winning runs were scored.

Wellington 427 and 97 for 6 (Walmsley 3-23) lead Auckland 328 (Horne 88, Barnes 75, Franklin 4-64, O'Brien 4-76) by 196 runs
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Wellington head into the last day of their match with Auckland in danger of undoing the chance they have of beating the home side at Eden Park. Having achieved a 99-run lead on the first innings, Wellington slipped to 97 for six by stumps, as Kerry Walmsley (3 for 23) and Andre Adams, with two for 24, pinned them down. It was the first time in the series that Auckland had been denied first-innings points.

Auckland struggled through the latter stages of their innings. Aaron Barnes scored 75 and at 310 for 6, they were looking competitive. However, they lost their last four wickets for only 18 runs as James Franklin, who took four for 64, and Iain O'Brien, with four for 76, did the damage.

Wellington then set out to build an unassailable position only to find the Auckland bowling shut them down. Neal Parlane's innings typified this as he top-scored with 41, painstakingly compiled in 132 minutes. Matthew Bell also laboured 108 minutes for 17.