David Kelly leads Central batting assault

Central Districts finished day two of this four-day Shell Trophy match with Canterbury in a very strong position at 383/5.

The highlight of the day was the second first-class century of Central Districts opener David Kelly who scored a good workmanlike 138 not out which was the major factor in his side gaining the two points for a first innings lead.

Central Districts are quite dominant and coach Dipak Patel told CricInfo he was extremely happy with his team's performance today.

Warmer than day one, the Canterbury attack never achieved very much on a good Horton Park batting pitch and some indifferent line and length at times let most of the Central Districts batsmen have some relatively free hits.

Ben Smith, with 59 from 89 balls, Glen Sulzberger (72 from 100 balls) and Mark Douglas (55 from 71 balls), gave solid support to Kelly with all playing in a most attractive manner with boundaries of a high quality being seen by almost certainly the biggest crowd of the Shell Trophy season this summer.

Central Districts should go on tomorrow to extend their lead significantly with David Kelly, after a night's rest, seeking further batting honours.

The weather forecast is good and the game is poised for some more very interesting and fluid cricket.